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Louis was sat on the bench with his head hung low between his legs. He still had his football kit on and his boots were starting to cramp up his feet, but he had no intention of taking any of it off. There was fresh sweat dripping from his hair and patches of dirt and grass scattered on his skin.

“Here comes Tomlinson from behind. He dodges one defender…he passes it off to Payne…Payne crosses it back over to Tomlinson. He has a clear shot!”

The headband on Louis's head suddenly was feeling too tight so he yanks it off his head and flings it somewhere across the room. Louis could tell that his teammates were avoiding him. He couldn't blame them though. If he were them, he probably would be doing the same thing.

“Unbelievable! Tomlinson has completely missed the net!”

Louis can still hear the shouts from the crowd and see the disappointment on his teammate’s faces as the ball skims past the goal post.

“The goal was wide open! That was supposed to be a game winner. I know the man is going through a divorce, but he really let his team down on this one.”

Louis abruptly stands up and punches his locker out of frustration. The sound of skin hitting wood echoes throughout the room, making everyone in the locker room quiet down.

He could feel his fist throbbing and worries that he might have broken his hand. The whispers were silenced and Louis could feel several eyes staring at his back. He makes eye contact with Liam and Niall who are looking at him with full concern but all Louis registers is pity.

Louis grabs his duffel bag and doesn’t even bother with changing. Louis swiftly moves around his teammates, who make a path for him. Without saying goodbye, Louis leaves out the door to run away from his problems like he always does. 

----------

It was a rainy day in London and Louis decided that the best way to spend his day was to lay on the couch and watch television; but to be honest, lately Louis’s days have been like this no matter what the weather was like.

Louis was laid across his couch with his hand propped on a pillow with an ice pack on top of it. Turns out he didn’t break his hand, just bruised it, but it still hurt like hell.

Nothing was good on TV at the moment so, Louis was subjected to watching Sky Sports. As they are switching segments, they showed a replay of Louis’s missed shot yesterday making him cringe as he watches the ball go past the goal.

Talking on the screen right now was his least favorite person in the world, Nick Grimshaw, aka Sky Sport’s “most charming” journalist. 

The first time Nick interviewed him, was also going to be the last. Throughout the whole interview Louis and Nick were bickering and arguing over everything. Half of the footage couldn’t even be used because of “explicit language". 

Louis has never hated someone more than he did Nick and he didn’t even know why. He was one of those people that Louis wanted to punch as soon as he saw them, but because Harry and Nick were friends/co-workers, Louis tried multiple times to get along with the guy. At the end, Louis concluded that he and Nick were born to hate each other, at least that’s what he explained to Harry.

“So Nick, what are your thoughts on Tomlinson’s performance yesterday?”  the other sportscaster at the desk asks.

Louis didn’t recognize the man probably since he's been avoiding watching the network for obvious reasons. 

“Honestly he looked terrible out there,"  Nick answers without hesitation. “He clearly was not in the right mind-set during the whole game. I know he has a lot going on, but he needs to be able to put all that aside and play football.”

“If the viewers are not aware, Louis Tomlinson who was married to Sky Sport’s very own Harry Styles, has now finalized their divorce. I think it’s also worth mentioning that they have three children together,”  the man addresses to the camera before turning back to Nick. “Now with that being said, how does someone simply put aside a messy divorce like that?”

“I have no clue. I haven’t been married before.”  Nick chuckles. “But I do know that Louis has to get over it soon. How will he be able to lead his team while he is playing like crap?”

Louis would love to reach into the TV screen and grab Nick by his scrawny neck. There have been multiple news outlets that have commented about the divorce, but when it’s coming from Nick, it sounds extra infuriating somehow.

“So are you blaming Tomlinson for the loss?" the man asks Nick.

“Absolutely, we all know he could have made that goal. Hell a toddler could have made that goal. I think Arsenal is better off just benching him for the rest of the season.”

Louis let’s that comment sink in for a minute. Coach had offered him to take a leave of absence just until he had his life back under control. Of course Louis rejected that offer. Staying at home just to mope all day was something he rather not do. 

But now that Louis thinks about it, maybe it is better for him to be benched for a little bit. He knows he is playing like shit right now and that’s not what the team deserves.

As Louis thinks over his options, he hears the TV shut off. When he looks up, he is not surprised to see his little sister, Lottie, standing there. It was just a matter of time before his sister came over to check up on him.

“Don’t listen to them,” Lottie says after she turned off the TV.

Louis snuggles further into the couch, ready for this upcoming conversation with his sister. “How did you get in here?”

He could have sworn he locked the door, but nowadays he barely restocks his fridge so he wouldn’t be surprised if he left his front door open for anybody to waltz right in.  

“The key was under your front door mat. You should really think about moving that. It’s very predictable you know.” Lottie sits down beside him, eyeing his bruised hand. “Should I even ask about your hand?”

“I punched a locker,” Louis simply said, feeling like that’s explanation enough.

Lottie let’s out a sigh. “So is this all you’ve been doing? Listening to people bash on you while you sulk?”

“Actually I ate some ice cream a little while ago.” Louis pouts from under his blanket.

Lottie looks on the coffee table and sees a full bowl of melted ice cream. She decides not to mention that or the fact her brother is cuddling the same blanket Harry got him for his birthday.

“So, how are you doing Lou?” she asks warily.

Louis does not want to talk about it but knowing his sister, she was not going to let it go.

“I mean did you watch my game yesterday, Lotts?” Louis quirks his eyebrow at her. “I did awful and it’s because I can't get my mind off of him.”

Louis was getting frustrated with the fact that he keeps focusing on the divorce. All he wants to do is forget about it, but it seems like his emotions are consuming him, trapping him in this dark room where he can’t get out.

Lottie looks down at him with sad eyes. “Louis I am so sorry this is happening to you and Harry, but it’s natural to feel this way.” Lottie hesitates, biting her lip as if she was contemplating her next words. “Look I know you’re upset and angry right now, but you had days to prepare for this. What were you doing in between then?”

Not preparing for a divorce that’s for sure. When Harry sent the divorce papers in to get processed, Louis thought they would have fixed their marriage in between then. Louis spent day after day trying to come up with a plan to win his husband back and keep his family whole, but Louis totally misjudged the time it would take for divorce papers to get finalized. In about three weeks, it was done; Harry and Louis were officially not married anymore.

“I-I thought we would be able to fix us." Louis looks down at his left hand and stares at the pale patch of skin on his bare ring finger.

“Oh Louis.” Lottie shakes her head. “If you didn’t want to get a divorce then why did you sign the papers?”

“Because Harry wanted me to. He practically begged me. I would do anything for that man, and if he wants me to sign a damn piece of paper then of course I will. I just didn't think he was serious."

“Of course he was serious, it’s a legal document! Why would you think he wouldn’t go through with it?”

“Because we were happily married for 10 years Lottie! I mean I know we had our fights, but that did not mean that we needed to get a divorce. I mean you have to admit he was being a little hasty right?”

“Can I be honest with you for a moment?” Lottie asks. Louis nods his head yes. “It wasn’t the tiny fights that made Harry want to leave you.”

Louis sits up and frowns at her. “I do not want to talk about this.”

Lottie ignores his plea. “The reason why he divorced you was because you were never around Louis.” Lottie takes a deep breath before continuing. “Ever since you became captain you’ve been away with the team on so many occasions. It was like you became a different person. You missed so much and Harry felt like he was losing you. He wasn’t happy like he used to be and I saw it Louis.”

Louis was staring at the floor with frustrated tears threatening to spill out. “So you’re taking his side, alright.” He stands up and starts pacing around his living room.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side! I’m just trying to make you understand why Harry is doing this.”

Louis let’s out a snort. “Oh then please dear sister, do tell me why my husband is now my ex-husband? Tell me why I only have three days a week to spend with my kids? Tell me why this whole shit show is happening?!”

He didn’t mean to get so angry, he just couldn’t help it. Louis feels like he is living in another dimension and all he wants to do is get back to where he belongs.

Lottie stares at him with a calm expression, not at all phased at his outburst. “You cannot blame Harry for missing you.”

“And how about me Lottie? Do you think I didn’t miss him too? I had to leave because my team needed me! I play football to provide for my family and that was what I was doing. For god sakes, Harry was the one who pushed me to take the captain's position in the first place!” 

Lottie stands up from the couch walking toward her brother with a scowl on her face. “And how about your own family?! For past few years you have been missing out on so much. You missed your daughter’s ballet recital. You missed your other daughter’s birthday party. You missed plenty of your son’s football games. You even missed you and Harry’s anniversary last year. So do not stand there and make excuses for yourself! You were the one who decided to leave, no one forced you to.”

At this point Lottie was right in front of Louis with her finger stabbing him in the middle of his chest. Even though she was a small woman, she managed to make Louis feel intimidated.

“I understand that I was not around a lot, but what was I supposed to do? Not go to training? Not go to meetings? I can’t miss shit like that.”

Lottie replaces her scowl on her face with disappointment and backs off. “I’ll talk to you later Louis.”

She walks over to grab her bag. Before she leaves out the door she pauses at the door frame. “He just wanted to know that football wasn’t the only thing you cared about,” she said quietly and leaves out the door, slamming it close.

Once the echo of the door slam silences, Louis was left alone with several thoughts running through his head. 

----------

The house looked the same. It was still the same house Harry and Louis had built together, except for the fact Louis doesn’t live there anymore.

When the divorce was finalized Louis let Harry keep the house since Louis had already bought a flat. Harry had no complaints.

The house was secluded in the country near London so both parents could commute easily. Louis and Harry had this dream of some sort of “paradise” for them and their future family so they built it. The house itself is a beautiful Victorian style that they renovated, turning it into a more modern home but still keeping some charming aspects of the original house.

They had plenty of land that they definitely made use of. Majority of the land was used for Louis's mini football pitch that he had to beg Harry to have. The rest of the land was for Harry who used it for his garden and a family pool. They even had a future plan to buy some horses, but of course that never happened.

Louis parks his car in the driveway and smiles at the familiar sight of bikes and toys scattered on the front yard. Louis remembers coming out there late at night to clean before Harry got home from work, so he wouldn’t yell at the kids.

Louis was there to pick up the kids for his half of the week. The schedule was very simple; Harry got the kids from Monday to Thursday, while Louis got the kids from Friday to Sunday.

When they sat with the lawyer to figure out the custody plan, Louis just sat there silently while Harry and the lawyer talked. After they were done, they both turned to Louis who simply nodded his head in agreement and left out the door.

The first time they tried the new schedule the kids were quiet and ignored their parents. When they got to Louis’s new flat they made a beeline to their bedrooms and stayed there until dinner.

It took some time, but eventually they got used to the fact that their parents were no longer together. They said that they’re okay with the idea of switching between them, but Louis and Harry both knew their kids weren’t as happy as they were before.

As Louis was nearing the front door he hears a voice from the backyard. “Come on Clifford give me back the ball!” Louis immediately recognizes the voice as Beckham, his only son and also the eldest.

All of a sudden a big black blob of fur runs toward him with a football in his mouth.

“Hi there Cliff.” Louis kneels down and starts petting his dog.

Yes it was still his dog, but Louis didn’t want to take Clifford away from all this open space to a closed off flat with no inch of grass anywhere, so he let him stay with Harry.

“Oh hey dad.”

Louis turns around and sees his son looking at him with a glint in his eye. He will never get over the fact that he looked just like Harry.

Beckham was the only child that they had through a surrogacy. Harry’s sister, Gemma, was the surrogate and they were all surprised when she volunteered herself to carry their child. Apparently she had been waiting for them to ask her.

Even though Louis had a hand in making the baby, the Styles genes were clearly the dominant ones. The only characteristics Louis contributed was the straight brown hair and the nose. The rest was all Styles. Beckham had the same shade of green eyes, the same dimples and the same strong jawline like Harry. They could practically be twins.

“Hey Becks, looks like Cliff stole this from you.” Louis takes the slobbery ball from Clifford’s mouth and hands it to his son.

“Gross he slobbered all over it.” Beckham pulls a disgusted face and holds the ball out in front of him so it doesn’t get on his shirt.

“Well maybe next time try protecting the ball better,” Louis teases.

Beckham flings the ball back in the yard, making Clifford chase after it.

“Yeah and maybe you should aim for the goal next time,” his son says back.

Louis visibly winces at that. “You got me there bud.”

Beckham immediately regrets what he says when he sees the frown on his dad's face. Louis was maybe still a little sensitive on the topic.

“I’m sorry.” Beckham sighs. “I’m just stressed about the game next weekend. Coach has been busting our balls.”

“It’s okay bud, but please watch your language,” Louis scolds. “What would your papa say if he heard you say that?”

Beck rolls his eyes like your average teenager. “Come on I’m 12 now.”

“Yeah don’t remind me.” Louis throws his arm around him. “So how’s everybody doing?”

“Papa has been on this healthy food craze at the moment. He’s taken all the sugar and sodas out of the house,” Beck grumbles.

“Sounds like Harry.” Louis chuckles. "But don’t worry I just packed my cupboard full of junk food so when we get there you can sneak some home.”

Louis knew Harry was trying to convert his kids into health nuts like him, so he bought some junk food just in case something like this happened.

“How are your sisters?” Louis feels weird asking it every time because it made him feel like he wasn’t in the loop anymore with his own family.

He and Harry have two daughters, who were both adopted. Olivia, who is the same age as Beckham, and Mila who is only 2 years old.

“Olivia got a boyfriend recently,” Beckham says with a bored tone. “Oh and Mila accidently stomped all over papa's tomatoes in the garden.”

Louis laughs at that. He could imagine Harry’s horrified face as soon as he sees his daughter covered in tomato juice and dirt. Mila was currently going through her terrible twos phase and both parents have been exhausted trying to handle her.

“Oh wow that’s…wait did you just say Olivia has a boyfriend?” Louis quickly backtracks and tries to make sure he heard his son right.  

Beck simple nods his head. “Yeah, anyway do you think we could stop by the pitch so I can practice with uncle Niall?” 

Louis ignores the question. “Olivia has a boyfriend,” Louis says more to himself, the words tasting sour in his mouth.

His 12 year old daughter has a boyfriend and he didn’t even know.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes. Let me go get my gear!” Beck rushes out from under Louis's arm and runs into the house.

Louis doesn’t even notice. He’s still on the fact that his 12 year old daughter has a boyfriend!

In the middle of his internal freak out, Harry decides to pick that moment to come out.

“Beckham please do not run in the house!” Harry yells after his son, then he turns to Louis who looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Our daughter has a boyfriend!” Louis exclaims when he realizes Harry was right in front of him.

“Hi to you too Louis,” Harry said unfazed and then looks down at Louis’s bruised up hand. “What happened to your hand?” he asks with genuine concern.

Louis of course ignores the question because there are more pressing matters. “Our daughter has a boyfriend!” he repeats once more just to make sure Harry is hearing him.

“I know.” Harry rolls his eyes.

Louis’s eyes widen even more. “You knew? For how long?!”

Harry winces at how loud he’s being. “Can you stop screaming please? They have only been dating for a week. I’ve met the lad and he is actually quite the gentleman.”

Louis was annoyed about how calm Harry was being. “Yeah right." Louis scoffs. “So who is this punk?”

“The punk is named Luke and please stop making a big deal about this.”

“How can I not Harry? She’s only 12 and she’s still my little girl!” Louis pouts.

He still remembers when they first adopted Olivia. After Beckham, Louis and Harry both knew they wanted at least one more kid. Olivia was the first child they received a file from and they fell in love instantly. Olivia was 5 at the time when they adopted her. She was originally from Africa and desperately needed a loving home. Harry and Louis read her story and knew from that point on that they needed her. 

“What’s all this yelling about?” Olivia steps out and looks curiously at her two fathers.

“My little girl!” Louis instantly pulls her into a hug. “Who let you grow up so fast?!” he shouts out dramatically.

“Dad you’re crushing me!” Olivia struggles to get out.

Louis lets go of her and wipes his non-existent tears. “Where is my Mila? At least I have another daughter that I can still cuddle without them yelling at me.”

On cue, Mila wobbles her way over to the front door, smiling up at her dad. Louis scoops her up and hugs her tight, making her giggle.

“Oh my little munchkin! Please promise me that you will never grow up and will stay this little forever!” Louis repeatedly kisses her cheeks until they become red from his beard.

Harry quickly grabs Mila away from Louis. “Louis stop it, you really need to trim that beard of yours.”

“You never complained about my beard before.” Louis winks at him making the other man blush.

Before Harry could respond back Beckham comes flying out of the house with a duffle thrown over his shoulder. “Come on let’s go! Dad promised me I can practice with Uncle Niall!”

“I did?” Louis furrows his eyebrows, he doesn’t remember agreeing to that.

“Dad I don’t want to stay out on the pitch! There no Wi-Fi there,” Olivia whines.

Louis could already feel a headache coming on. “How about we drop off Becks with Niall and then we can go back to the flat?”

“Sounds like a plan. Now can we please go?” Beck asks impatiently, already halfway to the car.

Harry hands Mila off to Olivia. “Liv can you buckle your sister in. I’m going to talk to your father.”

“You are?” Louis quirks his eyebrow at his ex-husband.

“I am,” Harry confirms. “Also Liv can you make sure to sit next to your sister and hold onto the car seat. I don’t trust that convertible.” He eyes Louis’s roofless car.

When the kids are out of hearing range Harry turns back to Louis.

“I thought you liked my convertible?” Louis asks right away.

“Yeah when my children aren’t in it.”

“Fair enough.” Louis directs his attention to the ground and digs his heels into the dirt. “So what do you want to talk about?”

It was still weird between him and Harry. Ever since the fighting began Louis didn’t know how to act around him. He usually had a good read on the man, but nowadays Harry seemed more like a stranger to him. 

“I saw the game the other day,” Harry simply said.

And there it is. Louis was hoping they would avoid talking about it, but it seems like Harry is on a different page.

“Well I hope you did. I mean it’s your job after all to analyze those games.” Louis shrugs his shoulders. “So are you going to tell me how fucking bad I was out there?”

Harry quickly shakes his head no. “No, of course not Louis. I just wanted to tell you to ignore all those comments. People have no idea what’s going on.”

Louis purses his lips. “Well your colleague Nick was very passionate about the whole thing the other day.”

“Look I talked to Nick and I told him not to comment on it again. I had no idea they were gonna discuss that shit. I’m sorry that you had to listen to that.”

Louis scoffs. “Are you actually?”

Harry frowns at him. “What are you trying to say?”

“Harry, you and I both know that you would rather see me on the bench. You always would say I was too obsessed with football. Don’t try to act like you care now.”  

Louis knew he wasn’t being fair, but he couldn’t help himself. After the conversation with Lottie, Louis couldn’t stop thinking about what she said. Louis knew Harry supported him and his career, but he always had an underlying feeling that Harry was not happy with everything that came with it. Louis will admit he was away a lot, but he always tried to be the best father and husband that he could be.

“That is not fair,” Harry says through clenched teeth. “You know I supported you and your career. Do not make me the bad guy here. You were constantly away, you barely had time for us.”

Louis looks directly in his eyes. “I’m sorry that we can’t all have jobs that let us stay home Harry, but at least I’m not the one who broke this family apart.”

“I am not the one who broke this family apart, and we both know that,” Harry’s voice was cold as ice, making Louis physically take a step back.

Louis looks down at the ground and takes a deep breath. He and Harry have always been fighting every time they see each other, and each time gets more exhausting than the next.

Louis hears Harry let out a sigh, making him look back up.

“Look I have work to do. I’ll see you on Monday Louis and please do something about your hand, it’s so swollen,” Harry stresses once more, before going back into the house.

Louis watches his ex-husband shut the front door, leaving him with his throbbing hand. All of a sudden Clifford comes running back with the ball secured in his mouth. Louis kneels down and pets his head.

“Watch over him Cliff. I still care for that asshole.”

As Louis says goodbye to his dog, his children start yelling at him to hurry up. Louis pats Clifford on the head one last time before jogging over to his car.

Louis plops himself in the driver’s seat and double checks that all his kids are buckled in.

“So, are you guys going to fight every time you see each other?” Olivia asks with a small voice from the back seat of the car.

Louis’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. “You heard that?”

“Dad we’re in a convertible right now and you guys were practically screaming at each other,” Beck deadpans.

Louis looks around him to see that yes, they were in fact in a car without a roof that was not too far from the front porch where Louis and Harry were having their fight. Awesome.

Louis turns to face his kids. “Your father and I are trying the best we can. It’s just-“

“-complicated,” both his oldest children finish for him.

Louis puts his car in drive. “Yeah it’s complicated,” he says under his breath and pulls out of the driveway.

----------

“You know I was having a really great time having a nap,” Niall said as they pull up to the parking lot of the football pitch.

Louis smiles sweetly at his best friend. “I’m sorry that my son wants to practice with the best goalie in the Premiere League.”

“Stop kissing my ass,” Niall mumbles, before turning his attention in the kids in the back of the car. "Hi kiddos!"

“Hi uncle Niall,” Olivia responds without even looking up from her phone.

Niall raises his eyebrows questioningly towards Louis.

“She has a boyfriend,” Louis explains.

“Oh well that…wait what?!” Niall’s voice carries through the empty lot. “She has a boyfriend? How could you let this happen?!” Niall points an accusing finger at Louis.

Louis puts his hands up defensively. “Hey don’t yell at me. I just found out too. Harry told me he met the lad and that he was supposedly a gentleman.” Louis puts up finger quotes.

“Oh bullshit,” Niall spits out. “Harry wouldn’t know what a gentleman is, he married you for Christ sake!”

And he divorced me, Louis wanted to add but he didn’t want to ruin the mood.

Louis simply takes the light hearted insult and blinks up at Niall. “Wow thanks Niall.”

“Olivia I can’t believe you’re growing up so fast! I feel like it was just yesterday when I was taking you to the playground.” Niall starts to fake cry.

This whole interaction reminded Louis of how he reacted when he found out. Seeing it actually play out, makes him realize why Harry was complaining about him being so “dramatic”.

“Uncle Niall stop being so dramatic!” Olivia groans out of embarrassment. “I already had to deal with this when dad found out.”

Beckham, who was fidgeting in his seat with impatience, finally speaks up. “Yeah, yeah, Olivia has a boyfriend, big deal.” Beck rolls his eyes. “Can we please go practice my penalty kicks now?”

Before Beckham gets out of the car, Louis stops him. “Beck give me a kiss before you leave.” Louis leans his cheek toward his son for him to kiss.

“Dad,” Beck grumbles, but ultimately gives him a quick peck and rushes out the car.

Niall looks on with fondness. “Do you need me to kiss you as well?” he asks teasingly.

Louis snorts. “I rather you not actually, but I need to ask you something.” Louis waves Niall to come closer, so only he can hear him. “Do you think football took over my life?”

Niall lets out a sad sigh. “Lou is this about the divorce?”

Louis looks down at his lap and nods.

Niall puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Look Tommo you know how I am about this whole subject.”

It’s true, Niall and almost all their friends were always avoiding the topic. They both loved Harry and Louis so much and did not want to pick sides. It was just an awkward situation for everyone.

“But to answer your question,” Niall continues. “I don’t think football took over your life, but I do think you might have bitten off more than you could chew. You had just adopted Mila and at the same time you were promoted to captain. That was a lot to juggle.”

“But Niall I didn’t choose to become captain,” Louis argues back. “Coach picked me.”

“Yeah I know, but when you became captain you took on the role really seriously. Don’t get me wrong you are one of the best captains this team has seen it’s just, it’s hard to be a good football captain as well as a good father and husband.”

Louis has heard this same kind of speech from everyone he talks to. It’s not like he was ignoring what a shitty husband and father he was, he just didn’t want to admit it.

Louis chews his bottom lip as a distraction. “But Niall you of all people know how crazy this life is. Football is my job.”

“And Harry, Beckham, Olivia and Mila are your family.” Niall squeezes his shoulder one last time before removing his hand. “I love you Louis, but you have to realize that Harry had a point when he left you.”

That was harsh, but Louis needed to hear it. 

Louis blinks away the tears, but he’s sure Niall notices it. “Thank you Niall. I really needed to hear that.” Louis smiles sadly up at him. “Now get out of here and go make my son a better footie player than me.”

“He already is,” Niall says with a wink. “Bye girls!” He waves bye to the two girls in the back before making his way inside the building.

Louis watches Niall’s retreating figure until he was out of sight.

“Dad I don’t blame you, you know,” Olivia says from the back seat.

Louis twists his body to look at her. “Huh love?”

“For the divorce,” she clarifies. “I know you and papa have been fighting more than usual. It’s okay, we still love you both even if you guys are separated.”

Louis feels tears building up again. “I’m sorry you guys are in the middle of this. It’s not fair.”

“It’s okay.” Olivia puts on a smile for her dad. “I rather see you guys happy than miserable and if that means you guys are divorced then so be it.”

Louis give her a tight smile and turns around so his daughter doesn’t see his tears trickling down his face.

The thing was, as long as he was away from Harry and his family; he could never be happy.

----------

Louis had bought his flat during when he and Harry were on a “break”. It was only supposed to be temporary, but days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and now Louis has found himself permanently living there.

The flat was the complete opposite of what Louis has been accustomed to. Outside, Louis could hear the busy streets of London, while back at the house they were surrounded by trees protecting them from the outside world. 

The flat itself was nothing special and had a bachelor pad feel to it that Louis was not fond of. It had 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a decent sized kitchen that Louis barely uses and a balcony that looks over London.

With the kids there, it felt nice and a little homey but when they weren’t, it was a different story. The flat felt too big and Louis hated living there alone. It was too quiet which was strange since he was so used to living with three children in the house. Louis never thought he would miss the sound of tiny footsteps running in the hallways and the sound of his husband yelling at them to stop.

“I’m going to my room!” Olivia announces as soon as they get through the front door.

Louis watches her leave and looks down at Mila, who was cuddled up in his arms. “Looks like it’s just you and me, little one.”

Mila looks up at her father with her eyes half closed. “Dadda,” she says with a yawn, signaling it was time for her nap.

“I can’t wait until I can have long conversations with you." Louis kisses her on her forehead.

Suddenly Louis hears Olivia squeal from her room. “Oh my god! Did you hear what Mel said about Kristen?” She was no doubt talking to her friends on that damn awful phone.

Louis scrunches up his face. “On second thought, please stay little forever.”

Mila let’s out another yawn and cuddles further into her father’s chest. Louis’s face breaks out in a fond smile and starts to rock her gently in his arms.

Adopting Mila was not at all planned. After Olivia, they weren’t planning on having any more children. A few years later, the adoption agency called and said they had a baby who needed a temporary home. Of course Harry and Louis gladly took her in.

When they got Mila, she was the tiniest baby they had ever seen. She was a tiny little thing at 5 months old. The agency said that she was abandoned by her biological parents. When Louis found out he was absolutely furious and Harry had to physically calm him down. Mila was such a sweetheart and he could not understand how someone could leave her like that.

After just spending a day with Mila, Harry and Louis fell in love with her. They didn’t have the heart to let her go so they adopted her. Both parents were over the moon and were so excited to raise another beautiful little girl.

But that excitement was short lived. About just 2 weeks after adopting Mila, Louis was promoted to captain for Arsenal.

Harry of course was happy for him, hell he even told Louis to take the position, but he was also scared that this could be too much for Louis to handle. Harry told Louis his concerns, but Louis told him he was being ridiculous. Soon Harry’s fear turned to reality. Like he predicted, Louis started missing out on everything and was always away for work. 

This is eventually when the fighting started. It got so bad that they fought whenever they were in same the room and there was barely any civil conversation between the two. After the first year, things were just going downhill from there.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Louis had been away for the whole day on a little field trip with the team. Coach wanted the players to develop better team work skills so it was a mandatory trip for all players. Louis and the rest of the team had an overall good time and it was a good way to get to know the rookies.

But as much as Louis loves his team he missed his family. It was late at night, but Louis was finally coming home and he decided to surprise his family. He knew Harry and the kids always have movie night on Friday, so it was perfect timing.

When he got to the house though, Harry’s car wasn’t in the driveway. The lights were turned off and it seemed like no one was home.

Louis’s mind started to race through all the possible negative scenarios. After checking the doors and windows for any signs of forced entry, he thankfully didn’t find anything.

“Surprise,” Louis’s voice echoes through the empty house. He sits on the couch and lets out a sigh.

This was not what he had in mind. All he wanted was to cuddle with his husband and his three children. Louis’s eyes started to feel heavy and he decided to take a quick nap.

“Louis.”

Louis’s eye’s snap open, and sees a pair of green eyes staring down at him. Louis rubs his eyes and smiles sleepily.

“Hi baby.” Louis puckers his lips, trying to get a kiss.

Instead of giving what his husband wants, Harry ignores him. "Louis where have you been? I've been trying to call you.”

Louis furrows his eyebrows at his tone. "I wanted to surprise you guys.” Which reminds him, where are his kids? “So where are my beautiful children?” Louis jumps up from the couch, trying to search for his kids.

Harry shushes him. "Louis keep your voice down. They’ve had a long day.” He sighs and slumps back against the couch.

“Long day? I thought today was movie night?”

“Today was Beck’s football championship,” Harry says pointedly.

Oh. “What? That was today? Shit,” Louis curses. “It totally slipped my mind.”

“How can you forget Louis? I reminded you like 5 times before you left,” Harry said clearly irritated at his forgetful husband. “We tried calling you but you never picked up.”

“I’m so sorry Harry.” Louis sits back down, putting some space between him and Harry.

“Don’t say sorry to me. Say sorry to your son. He was really hoping you were going to show up,” Harry says with disappointment in his voice.

“Well did they win?” Louis asks.

“No. They lost by a point.”

“Shit,” Louis winces. “How did he take it?”

“He’ll be okay. I told him there’s always next year.”

“I’ll make it up to him,” Louis hums. “I can take his team out to the stadium tomorrow or something.”

Harry shoots a bewildered look toward Louis. “You're missing the point here Louis! You can't keep missing out on big things like this!”

“I know, I know. It’s just Coach had taken away our phones and we have that match against-“

“Can you stop making excuses for yourself?! I’m tired of it Louis! You’ve been missing out on your kid’s big milestones and it’s like you don’t even care!” Harry shouts.

Louis is taken aback by his husband’s outburst. "Of course I care.”

Harry scoffs. “If you cared you would have been at Beckham’s game. You need to start putting more of an effort in this family! I feel like I’m the only one trying here!”

“Oh come off it Harry! You know I’ve been busy, cut me some slack!” Louis abruptly stands up from the couch and starts to walk into the kitchen.

“I’ve been cutting you slack for too long! I’m getting tired of it!” Harry is right behind him.

Louis opens the fridge and takes out a beer. “I’m tired of us fighting. Can we just do this in the morning?”

“No, we are doing this now.” Harry stands his ground. “We keep putting this off! We need to figure out how we are going to fix this problem! Louis, we need to figure out how to fix us!” Harry eyes were wide and he was completely red in the face from frustration.

Louis takes a swig of his beer. “You wanna know why we aren’t okay?”

“Please do tell me,” Harry insists.

“You”-Louis sticks his finger against Harry’s chest-"are making a big deal about nothing! We both miss shit, not just me okay? So don’t go blaming all our problems on me!”

“The problem is you Louis!”

“Oh really? Well then why don’t you just rid of the problem then?”

Harry frowns. "What the hell do you mean?”

And without even thinking Louis shouts, “Divorce me! Hell divorce me and maybe we’ll both be happier!” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets them.

There was nothing but silence after that. Harry looked at him with a blank expression. There was no more anger, frustration or sadness. Instead Harry was just staring blankly at him.

Louis gently sets his beer on the counter, trying not to disturb the unsettling silence.

“Get out,” Harry says, his voice with an obvious quiver to it.

“Haz I didn’t-“

“Get out!” Harry grabs the beer and throws it against the kitchen wall, smashing the bottle into millions of small pieces of glass, splattering brown liquid all over the wall and floor.

Louis stands there shocked, trying to figure out what to say. Their fights have never gotten this out of control. This was uncharted waters for both of them.

Harry and Louis freeze when they hear footsteps from upstairs, no doubt their kids waking up from the noise.

Louis looks at Harry one last time before rushing out the door. He did not want to be there when his kids got down. He didn’t want them to see him like this.

Louis didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the last time he would call Harry his husband.

~~~~~~~~~~

After Mila had fallen asleep in his arms, Louis sets her down in the crib. Louis looks down at her one more time, making sure she doesn’t wake up. He puts the baby monitor on and turns off the lights before leaving.

Louis goes into his own room and pulls out a wooden box that he hides in his drawer. He sits on his bed and opens it.

Inside the box is where he kept pictures of him and Harry. There was pictures from their dates, their wedding, their honeymoon and any other picture that showed them being happy, which was a lot. Also in the box was where Louis kept his wedding ring.

When Harry and Louis were settling on a ring, they decided to make their rings identical. Louis wanted simple and Harry wanted sparkles so they compromised. The ring was a simple gold band with one row of black diamonds. On the inside of the ring, was an engraving of what Harry said to Louis when they first started going out.

It’s you and me against the world.

Louis holds the ring in his palm and lets it burn through his skin. Whenever Louis found himself missing Harry, this is where he went. 

Seeing the memories hurt, but it brought him back to when they were happy.

The front door suddenly opens and slams close, startling Louis from out of his thoughts.

“Dad guess what!? I scored 5 goals against uncle Niall!” Beckham’s voice travels through the hallway.

Louis hastily puts the ring back in the box and returns the box to its hiding place. He wipes the tears from his face that he didn’t realize were there and pretends that he is somewhat okay.

Chapter Text

“Tomlinson steals the ball away from Richardson! He dodges one defender! He makes his way up the field! He lines up his kick…GOAL! Number 28 ends the game with a beautiful shot!”

Louis is suddenly tackled to the ground by his teammates, all yelling at him and hyping him up for his game-winning goal. He hears the crowd roar his name and a chant of “Tommo” takes over the stadium.

After Louis digs himself out of the human pile, he is immediately pulled into a group hug with his best mates/teammates, Niall and Liam.

“You did it Lou!” Niall screams in his ear.

Louis let’s himself relax into the bone crushing hug. Time felt like it slowed down, just so Louis could savor the moment. He felt the roar of the crowd vibrate through him and the joy from his teammates was infectious. Nothing in the world could top how he felt right now.

After celebrating and messing around on the almost empty field, it was time for the less fun part of his job: the interviews.

There is nothing Louis hates more than post-game interviews. The interviewers always ask the same questions like, “How did you think you did today?” or “What do you need to improve on?” or the most common one, “Do you think you’re better than Messi?”.

Louis takes a seat in front of all the cameras and microphones. He offers a smile to some of the journalists he has seen plenty times before.

“Hello everyone,” Louis greets the room. “As much as I love talking with you lot, I rather be in the locker room celebrating with my team. So let’s makes this a quick one.”

Louis scans over the crowd full of raised hands and picks on the first one he saw go up.

“Firstly congrats on winning the game Tommo,” the reporter opens up. “Now on to my question, can you please address the rumors of you transferring to Manchester United?”

Louis shrugs his shoulders. “There is nothing to address. I’m not going anywhere,” he says confidently. “Next question.”

A woman in the front stands up. “I know you’re gonna hate me for asking this Louis.”

“Then don’t ask it then,” Louis teases, causing the room to laugh. “Just joking love, ask away.”

“Today during the match, I think the viewers noticed a bit of tension between you and Richardson. Is there any type of hostility around the two of you?”

Louis shakes his head no right away. "It is all good fun. Richardson and I go way back. He is a great football player.”

Truth is he hated Richardson, but the media didn’t need to know that. Louis already had a lot of drama with other players, he didn’t need anymore.

Immediately another reporter speaks up, “Can you talk about the rumors of you and Ariana Grande?”

Louis refrains from rolling his eyes. He turns to his agent and whispers to him, to never let that journalist in the conference again.

“What are you a gossip column now?” Louis raises his eyebrows at the journalist. “As far as I am concerned this is a professional post-game conference, and let me remind you that I’m gay.”

After Louis was finished telling the reporter off, they turn red with embarrassment and quickly sit down.

Louis almost felt bad but everyone by now knows he is gay. It was the first thing Louis had made official when he went pro. Arsenal was one of the few clubs that agreed to let him come out, making it a easy decision for him to join them.

His teammates and coaching staff were all behind him, which made coming out way more easier.

When Louis did come out, of course he received some hate, but all that mattered was that he wasn't starting out his career with lies.

After that question, Louis decides he will take one more before calling it a day.  

“Alright one more question,” Louis announces while looking over the room.

His eyes come to a halt on an unfamiliar face. A very beautiful unfamiliar face.

Louis had no idea how he missed him. The boy was the only was in the room not in some sort of suit or dress clothes. Instead he was wearing black skinny jeans that looked too tight to be comfortable and a plaid shirt that was unbuttoned just enough to show off his chest. 

The guy looked fairly young, maybe younger than him, he had curly brown hair, and the most perfect jawline Louis has ever seen. 

Unlike everyone else, the boy in plaid seemed to be more interested on whatever was on his phone, instead of focusing on Louis. Which for some reason, intrigued Louis even more.

Louis squints his eyes to try to read the guy’s badge and saw that he worked for Sky Sports.

Louis narrows his eyes. “You over there. The one on the phone.” Louis watches as everyone’s head turns to see who he was talking to.

The boy looks up and seems startled when he figures out Louis is talking to him. He stuffs his phone in his pocket and directs his attention toward Louis.

When the boy looks up again, all Louis could think about was how green the boy's eyes were.

“Oh hello,” the boy said while shyly waving his hand. “I’m sorry for not paying attention." He chuckles awkwardly.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry for calling you out like that." Louis apologizes, feeling bad for putting him on the spot. "So, do you have any questions for me?"

The boy looks surprised at the question. "Oh uh I'm just an intern."

“And?” Louis quirks an eyebrow. “We all have to start somewhere.” Louis smiles kindly at him, earning him a smile back. “What’s your name?”

“Harry Styles for Sky Sports.” Harry demonstrates by showing his badge that was clipped to his shirt.

“Well Mr. Styles, go ahead and ask your question."

Harry nods his head and takes his time to compose himself. He straightens up his back, rolls his shoulders and looks straight on at Louis.

This gives Louis time to study Harry’s face and he honestly doesn't remember feeling this kind of attraction to another person before. 

Unlike before, Harry now looked more confident which Louis found extremely sexy.

“So Louis,” Harry opens up. “Even though this is only your rookie year you have proven that you are clearly a force to be reckoned with. Besides the record breaking stats you have put up, you also have demonstrated unexpected leadership.”

Harry’s deep voice echoes in the room, causing goosebumps to form on Louis’s skin.

“Wow thanks for the compliments, but is there a question in there somewhere?” Louis asks cheekily, making everyone chuckle including Harry.

Louis watches a smirk grow on Harry’s face, which he had never found attractive on guys until now.

“ Well as we all know Ramsey is retiring in a few years. Will you be willing to take his spot as captain?”

A few snorts from other journalists are heard right away and even Louis raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Ramsey was one of the best captain Arsenal has ever produced, and so for Harry to ask Louis, a first year player, to take his spot was almost ridiculous.

“Wow I’m flattered you would even ask that, but there are far more experienced and disciplined players on the team that would make for excellent captains. I don’t think I could ever fill that role,” Louis said bashfully.

It was rare for anyone to make Louis feel like this. Usually Louis was confident or boastful, he never showed vulnerability, but of course this beautiful green eyed boy changed all of that.

“And why not?” Harry asks with genuine curiosity.

Louis fidgets with his fingers in front of him, not used to talking about himself like this. “You know I’m still new to the league and I’m still that ‘new arrogant young forward’ that everyone titles me as. I don’t think Arsenal would put someone like me in charge."  Louis adds a chuckle at the end.

Harry doesn’t laugh, instead he decides to push on. “Well anyone who thinks that is stupid and blind.” Louis widens his eyes at Harry’s bluntness. “You’re an amazing player, but on top of that you are a great leader. I see you on the sidelines and every time you open your mouth, you have your team’s full attention." Harry was getting off topic but he didn’t seem to care. “And the thing about you being arrogant…well I can’t really argue with that,” Harry jokes, making Louis laugh.

For a moment they just stare at one another and Louis forgets about everyone else in the room. It felt like it was just Harry and him. Louis barely knew the boy, but for some odd reason he feels like he has known him for years.

After a few seconds of staring, Louis feels his agent nudge his arm, signaling to wrap it up.

Louis shakes himself out of his trance. “Well Harry it was nice meeting you and I’ll uh, think about what you said.”

“Promise?” Harry looks at him earnestly.

Where in the world did this man come from?

Louis grins at him. “I promise.” That seemed to appease Harry as a smile was painted on his face.

Louis stands up and says his goodbyes to the rest of the group, but can’t help but glance back over to Harry. T heir eyes meet once again and Harry waves him goodbye with a small smile before disappearing in the crowd

Louis tries to follow him with his eyes, but there is too much going on and there are people pushing him out the room.

In the locker room Louis doesn’t acknowledge anyone, he just walks to his locker and sits on the bench. He can feel people slapping his shoulder in congratulations but he just brushes it off.

“Tommo we’re going out to the pub to celebrate, you in?” Liam asks.

Louis doesn’t respond and just stares at his locker, lost in thought. Liam studies him carefully making sure Louis was okay.

“Lou? Is everything okay?” Liam asks, trying to figure out why his best mate wasn’t talking to him.

After a minute of Louis not responding, Liam gets concerned and calls Niall over.

Niall walks over to the pair. “Tommo what’s going on? Why aren’t you talking?” Niall taps him on the shoulder, trying to get him out of the trance he was in.

“Do you guys believe in love at first sight?” Louis asks randomly, making the other two raise their eyebrows.

“Strange question, but I do believe in something of the sort I guess,” Liam answers hesitantly.

“Can you explain?” Louis pushes for more.

Liam sighs, but ultimately does what Louis asks. “I just think it’s possible for you to meet someone for the first time and have an instant connection with them. It’s rare but it happens."

“What’s up with the sudden interest in love? I thought you were living that bachelor life right now?” Niall decides to ask.

Louis hates to admit it, but that has been his life style for a couple months now. In his defense, Louis was acting like any other 18 year old would be if they just signed a million dollar contract. Which included partying, clubbing and sleeping around, but for some reason meeting Harry made him want to change all of that.

“I think I might have met someone?” Louis quickly backtracks, “I mean I don’t know, he was just some guy with really pretty eyes, but for some reason I felt something there you know like a spark, or whatever those people say in the movies.”

This makes Niall and Liam a little more interested. “So did you get this bloke’s number?” Liam asks. 

Louis sadly shakes his head no.

“And why the hell not?”

“Because I was being rushed out." Louis pouts, unable to suppress it.

All of a sudden he is being hauled up from the bench and pushed toward the exit.

" Then why are you sitting on your arse for?” Niall pushes him out the door. “Go find your boy.”

Before Louis could even process what was happening, the locker room door closes in his face. Things like this make Louis question why he had to make those two his best mates, but at the same time they had a point; he shouldn’t let someone like Harry walk away.

Louis jogs through the hallways to try to find Harry. He probably looked like a mad man, since he was still wearing his sweaty uniform.

The building was big, so Louis was very unconfident in finding him, but he was also desperate. Louis turned every corner and checked in every hallway.  

He even went to a spot where journalist seem to hang out at, but all he got were people screaming at him and flashes of cameras.

After turning into his third dead end, Louis let out a defeated sigh and decides to turn back around. Louis had ran out of places to check and makes the decision to give up.

Who was he kidding? He barely knew the boy. Louis didn’t even know if this Harry liked guys or not.

Louis drops his head down and trudges his way back to the locker room to change out of his disgusting uniform.

As he is passing by a bathroom, he hears what sounds like yelling from inside.

Louis pauses and decides to investigate the noise.

“Help! Anyone, please I’m stuck in here!” a voice from the bathroom yells out.

Louis furrows his eyebrows and enters the bathroom to try to help whoever was yelling.

“Hello? Did you say you needed help?” Louis looks around the bathroom and sees a pair of feet under one of the stalls.

“Oh thank god! I’ve been stuck here for 20 minutes now.”

And Louis definitely knew that deep slow voice.

“Harry?”

“Uh yeah, who are you?” Louis could hear the confusion in his voice.

Louis was kind of embarrassed that he already memorized the sound of Harry's voice from just one conversation. 

"Oh it’s Louis Tomlinson. The guy you just interviewed," Louis clarified just in case Harry didn’t actually have a clue who he was.

“I know who you are Louis." Harry knocks his head against the stall. “Well this is just great. I get stuck in the bathroom stall and the person who finds me is a fit football player.”

Louis smirks. “You think I’m fit?”

Harry groans. “This is not the time! Just get me out of here please! And wipe that smirk off your face, I can hear it in your voice.”

Louis can’t contain the laugh that comes out. “Alright, here’s what we are going to do. You are going to push against the door while I pull the handle from out here. I’m hoping this will pry it open.”

“Alright sounds good. On a count of three.”

Louis grabs hold of the handle with a firm grip, ready to pull on it.

“1…2…3!”

As Louis pulls the handle, the door thankfully opens, but as it opens Harry stumbles out and runs straight into Louis.

Louis stumbles backwards and lands against the sinks with Harry clinging to his chest.

"Oops.”

Louis looks down and finds himself staring at those same green eyes he quickly has become obsessed with. “Hi.”

Harry’s hands were hanging on to the front of Louis’s shirt and Louis’s hands were clutching his narrow waist. If this was anyone else Louis would put as much distance between them as possible, but all he wanted to do was pull him closer.

Harry was the first to pull away. He backs up making sure there was a good distanced gap between them. 

“Uh thank you so much.” Harry coughs awkwardly.

“I didn’t think I would find you,” Louis said in disbelief, letting the words slip out of his mouth.

“You were trying to find me?” Harry asks in confusion.

Louis blushes. "Oh uh yeah. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

Harry waits for Louis to continue and when he doesn’t, he chuckles. “Well what is it?”

Louis gulps and wrings his hands together nervously. He has never been like this around anyone before and he was not enjoying it. “I-I just wanted to say thank you for the things you said out there. It’s good to know not everyone thinks I’m a spoiled party boy.”

Harry smiles kindly at him. “Well to be fair, you are-”

“Hey!” Louis said affronted.

“-but that’s not all you are,” Harry continues. “You are an incredible person from what I have read about. You’ve done charity matches, fundraisers and more charity work than most people your age have done. Those things don’t go unnoticed.”

Louis snorts. “Ha, maybe you should run that by the other news outlets.” Louis looks down at the bathroom tile.

“Look people like to focus on the drama. As long as you know who you are then that’s all that matters.”

Louis sighs sadly. “I wish I could just forget about what they think about me but it’s just hard you know.”

Louis doesn’t know why he is opening up to this total stranger in a public restroom but somehow it feels normal.

“I know, but you just have to ignore them. Maybe sort out all the fake news and focus on what actually is true,” Harry suggests.

“You're very wise for someone who looks so young. How old are you?” Louis asks.

"I just turned 17 this year," Harry answers him, "but I've always been told I talk like I've lived more than fifty years on this earth."

This makes Louis laughs, creating crinkles by his eyes.

Louis decides it’s now or never. “Look I know we just met, but can I get your number? I just find you really interesting and I want to get to know you more.” Louis rethinks what he just says and realizes how crazy he sounds. “I-I mean only if you want to. Don’t feel pressured to give me your number just because it’s me. I just think you’re a really nice guy and you’re also kind of cute, but I don’t even know if you like blokes or not. I should really stop talking now.”

Louis stops himself before he embarrasses himself any further.

Harry starts to laugh because of how flustered Louis looks. " First off I think we are well passed being strangers to one another. I mean you did save me from the bathroom stall." Both men giggle at that. “Secondly I do fancy guys…especially cute football players.” Harry bites his bottom lip and looks Louis up and down seductively.

This does not help Louis’s blush that was surely covering his whole face now.

Louis clears his throat. “Hm I might actually know a few cute football players.”

“Oh really now? Well then you should tell me all about them over dinner tomorrow night,” Harry says smoothly.

Louis grins. “I would love that.” Louis hooks his arm with Harry’s and starts to lead him out the bathroom. “So, tell me does your type so happen to have blue eyes, brown hair, a big arse and an enormous ego? Because I think I know the perfect candidate.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a year since the divorce and Louis has gotten better. He’s not playing like shit anymore, and he isn’t crying every time he sleeps in bed alone. He counts that as a win.

The media have practically forgotten about their divorce and now are focusing on some other new scandal. Which Louis doesn’t mind one bit, just feels bad for whoever is on the receiving end of that coverage.  

The kids are still a little awkward when both their parents are in the same room, but that’s to be expected. Harry is doing okay, probably even better than Louis. The kids even informed him that Harry has been more relaxed and has even been taking yoga lessons.

Louis had no idea how to react to that information. Of course he was happy that Harry was healthy and living his life. It's just an uneasy feeling knowing Harry was happy without him.

Since the divorce, Louis has been trying to focus on spending more time with his children. If he learned anything from the divorce it’s that he has been neglecting time with his kids. It’s just too bad that he had to get a divorce to realize it.

But other than being separated from the love of his life, everything else was okay.

“Beck angle your foot more to the right when you strike the ball,” Louis instructs his son.

Louis decided to take his kids out of the house and away from the electronics. Kids these days are so invested in their phones that they barely get to see daylight. Louis did not want his own children to follow the trend.

It was a rare gorgeous warm day in London, so Louis took them to the park.

Beck nods his head and lines up his kick like Louis taught him to. Beckham kicks the ball and it lands right into the net.

“That’s it bud!” Louis says proudly.

Even at a young age Louis could see Beckham’s potential in football. Louis was kind of relieved as well since he did name him after one of his favorite footballers.

“Thank you dad.” Beck runs over and gives him a hug. “Can’t wait to show coach.”

“He still giving you a hard time?”

Beck looks at his dad with a bored expression. “Dad he’s a Chelsea fan. Of course he’s still giving me a hard time,” Beckham says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well that’s the price you pay for being my son.” Louis pats him on the shoulder. "But if he’s really bothering you, I can have a chat with him.”

Beckham immediately shakes his head. “No it’s okay. I’m the best striker on the team and he knows it,” Beck says cockily. Like father, like son.

Louis smiles at his son like the proud father he is. “That’s my boy.”

Louis and Beckham collect their gear and make their way over to the swing set where Olivia and Mila are. 

Olivia was gently pushing Mila on the swings, while Mila giggled every time she swung into the air. Louis takes out his phone and snaps a photo because this cute moment needed to be documented. 

Mila is suddenly aware of her big brother’s presence and squeals. She always did have a short attention span.

“Beck!” Mila makes grabby hands at Beckham and he easily lifts her up into his arms.

Beckham shoots Olivia a smug look. “Well at least we know who Mila’s favorite is.”

“Oh shut up Beck,” Olivia grumbles.

Louis looks at all his three kids and wonders how he got so lucky. When he was young, he always wanted to have children and now to actually have some of his own is the best feeling in the world.

Even during the divorce, his kids always were there to cheer him up.

“So kids,” Louis finally speaks up. “How about we go get some food and head home for the day?”

All his children nod their heads and start to shout out some suggestions for a place to eat.

As Olivia and Beckham start to argue about what they want to eat, Mila starts pointing at something over Beckham’s shoulder.

“Papa!” Mila shouts out.

Louis follows her gaze and there was Harry walking toward them from across the field. Harry spots Mila’s excitement from where he was, and his face breaks out in a wide smile. Louis hates to admit it but he wishes that smile was directed at him.  

Even from far away, Harry was absolutely stunning. All he was wearing were basketball shorts and a white tee, but Louis had realized a long time ago that he has a thing for Harry in casual clothes.

It looked like Harry hasn't cut his hair in a while, because Louis could see the curls trying to sprout back up. Louis remembers when Harry used to have shoulder-length hair and he secretly hopes Harry might consider growing it out again.

As much as Louis likes admiring his ex-husband, he was a little confused on why Harry was here since Louis still had the kids till tomorrow.   

Because of Mila’s squirming, Beckham let’s her down and she wobbles her way over to Harry. Harry scoops her up and cuddles her tightly against his chest.

“Hi there Mila, you miss me?” Harry smacks a kiss on her cheek, causing her to laugh. Harry proceeds to greet everyone else with a kiss, except Louis of course.

Louis was still standing there confused on why he was there. "Hi Harry, what are you doing here?”

One of Harry’s eyebrows goes up. “Here to take the kids to their dentist appointment.” He frowns. “I told Beckham and Olivia to let you know.”

Both parents look over to their two eldest children who were all of a sudden so fascinated with the grass under their feet.

“We kind of forgot to tell dad,” Olivia admits. “We were just having so much fun we kind of forgot about it.”

Louis felt a sense of accomplishment that his kids were enjoying themselves during their time with him, but his confusion had yet to go away.

“Dentist appointment? How come you didn’t just ask me to take them?” Louis asks Harry.

Harry doesn’t respond right away instead he tells the kids to go play so they could talk alone.

The children look between their parents warily but ultimately choose to leave, knowing all too well that their parents are most likely going to argue once again. 

Beckham takes Mila from Harry and leads his siblings away from their parents.

“I didn’t ask you because I know you Louis,” Harry starts talking when the kids are out of hearing range.

Louis crosses his arms defensively. “And what's that's supposed to mean?”

“It means that I know you would have messed up somehow, either with paperwork or being late or even forgetting about the whole appointment all together,” Harry said with no hesitation.

Louis suddenly had a surge of anger run through him.

Trust was something Louis and Harry prided themselves as a couple, so hearing Harry say he didn't trust Louis to take the kids to their appointments, was really disappointing.

"Are you being serious Harry?"

"Louis when was the last time you took the kids to any of their appointments?"

Louis stays quiet.

"That's right you can't remember because it's been years," Harry answers for him. 

Louis's jaw clenches. "You never asked me."

"Because you were never home Louis!" Harry shouts. "I wanted to ask you, but I didn't want to burden you."

"Burden me? My kids were never a burden Harry."

Harry looks down at his feet, refusing to meet Louis's eyes. "Well you sure made it feel like it." 

Louis feels like all his breath was knocked out of him. 

“Wow don’t hold back now H,” Louis said sarcastically, after getting over the shock of it all. “Look I might have not been the most responsible person before, but I've changed, and my kids were never a burden to me. I can't believe you even fucking said that."

Louis moves to go but is quickly stopped by Harry who grabs him by the arm. “Louis I didn’t-“

“No,” Louis interrupts him and snatches his arm back. “If you can’t even trust me with our own kids then it makes me wonder if you have ever trusted me at all," Louis says with finality and walks away, without looking back.  

----------

Louis was beyond pissed off. After their argument, Louis could not keep the anger and frustration from bubbling up. 

“It’s just so fucking frustrating you know?” Louis runs up and kicks the ball a little too hard, making it fly into the bleachers.

Niall and Liam both let out exasperated sighs. It was the third ball Louis had let go and they knew they were going to be the ones who had to go get them.

This is how Louis lets out his anger. After the divorce, Louis needed an outlet to release all his frustration, and football did that for him.

Louis would sometimes find himself on a football pitch, draining himself of all his energy, after a huge fight with Harry.

Thankfully, those types of situations are rare since Louis and Harry rarely see or talk to each anymore, but when they do it usually leads to an argument like what happened earlier today. 

“Lou we understand that you’re upset,” Liam starts, kicking a new ball toward Louis. “Harry was being harsh but he has a bit of a point you know,” Liam says the last part quietly but Louis still catches it.

"I never thought my kids were a burden so don't even go there Liam," Louis practically growls.

"I wasn't talking about that. I know how much you love your kids Lou, but I think Harry-"

"Save it Liam. I do not want to hear it." Louis stops dribbling the ball and looks straight at his friend.

“But Lou-“

“Niall get into the goal please," Louis quickly cuts him off again, not wanting to talk about it anymore. 

Niall complies easily and secures his gloves over his hands. “Do you wanna know what I think about all this?”

Louis kicks the ball, angling for the top right corner of the net but it’s easily blocked by Niall. “No I’m good. Throw the ball back.”

Niall rolls his eyes and passes the ball, landing right at Louis’s feet. “I just think that you and Harry need to talk. You’re not the same guy you were Louis. You have to show Harry the new you.”

Louis kicks the ball again this time making it pass Niall. “Why? I don’t want anything to do with him. I have nothing to prove to him.”

Niall stands there shaking his head. “You guys were married for 10 years. I have never seen two people like that get on so well so quickly and for that long. How the hell did you two end up like this?”

Louis clenches his fists by his side, he would like an answer to that question too. “Can we stop talking about this? Harry and I are over. I just want to forget about all of it.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Louis gives Niall an exasperated look. “I do. Thinking about him is too painful.”

“I’m telling ya, you two need to sit down and talk.” Niall puts his hands up ready to block Louis’s kick.

“That’s not happening.” Louis backs up for a good run up. “If we are alone for even 5 minutes we might kill each other.”

Niall shrugs his shoulder. “You don’t know that, maybe you two will make up. I heard angry sex is always- OOF”

Niall falls to his knees clutching his stomach where Louis had just kicked the ball. Whoops.

Liam and Louis run over to Niall’s side, trying to make sure he was alright.

“You’re an absolute dick,” Niall grunts out.

“I didn’t mean it! I’m so sorry Niall,” Louis apologizes, feeling bad that he hurt his best friend. “Are you okay?”

Niall looks up at him with teary eyes. “Does it look like I am okay? I just got hit in the gut by a ball kicked by Louis fucking Tomlinson!”

“Honestly that was a great kick Lou. Wish you could kick like that in a real game,” Liam says snidely.

Louis smacks him on the shoulder. “Shut up, can’t you see Niall is in pain right now?”

“Yeah and who’s fault is that?” Liam retorts back.

Before Louis can talk back, Niall lets out another groan, causing both men to revert their attention back on their friend.

“What hurts Niall? Do you think you need a hospital?”

“No, what I need right now is a drink and Louis is buying.” Niall points at Louis and gets up slowly. “Also remind me to never get into the goal while you’re an emotional mess.”

----------

Like Niall requested Louis had bought him drinks at their local pub.

This pub was their usual hang out spot. The three friends had discovered it when they were in a desperate need of some drinks and this was the nearest one they found.

The pub was not at all amazing. It was old, dingy, dusty but most importantly empty. The owner, Richard, was an older gentleman and really had no idea about football so he did not blink an eye when three Arsenal players walked in. Whenever they needed a break from everything this is where they found themselves.

“Why can’t you just be a normal person and drink your problems away instead of hitting you friends in the gut!”

Louis lays his head on the counter. “It was an accident Niall!”

“I don’t know Louis it looked intentional to me.” Liam sips his drink.

“If it was intentional I would have aimed a little lower,” Louis mumbles against the wood.

Richard decides to come at the moment. “What are you three arguing about now?”

“Louis kicked me in the gut with a football because he doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions,” Niall said grumpily. Louis could even hear the pout in his voice.

Louis picks up his head and glares at the Irishman. “You try going through a divorce with someone you have three children with.”

Richard lays another glass in front of Louis. “Seems like you need another drink lad." He pours Louis another drink. “I went through a divorce as well you know.”

Louis gladly takes the drink. “Sorry to hear that Richard.”

“Don’t be. She and I eventually got back together. It took us a while to figure out that we were the only ones for each other. Now I don’t think I can be apart from her more than a day.”

“So what, you two just forgot all about the divorce?” Louis asks curiously.

Richard shakes his head. “No, more like the divorce made me realize what a complete idiot I was for letting her go. If we never got a divorce we would just be unhappy for the rest of our lives.”

Louis considers what he says for a minute. “So what you’re saying is the divorce was a blessing in disguise?”

“You could say that. Now don’t get me wrong the whole divorce phase was a living hell but it was worth it at the end.”

Louis downs his whole drink and tries to process everything Richard told him. He always thought divorce was a bad thing but maybe there’s more to it.

“Thank you Richard for telling me that. Puts a new perspective on this whole thing for me.”

“You’ll get through this Louis." Richard reaches over the counter and pats him on the shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me I have other customers to attend to."

Louis watches Richard greet a new customer and starts making a drink for him.

“Good evening football fans!” The sound of Nick’s voice crackles through the TV speakers.

All three boys automatically turn their heads toward the television.

“Tonight we have a special guest with us! We have somehow convinced ‘the’ Harry Styles to come out from the comfort of his own home, to join us here in the studio!”

Louis automatically tenses at the name.

“Hey Richard where’s your remote?” Liam asks, ready to change the channel.

“No, leave it. I’m not bothered,” Louis says nonchalantly but keeps his eyes on the counter.

Liam looks at him with doubt but decides to leave it alone.

“So Harry, it's a new season, which team are you most excited to watch play this year?" Nick asks Harry.

“Well like almost everyone, I'm interested to see what Liverpool can do with their new starting forward, but I do have a team that I have high hopes for.”

“Alright please share your thoughts with the rest of us Mr. Styles.”

Louis still hasn’t turned to face the TV, but his ears were tuned in to everything Harry was saying.

“It might seem like a shocker, but I think Arsenal is gonna come out big this season.”

Louis almost spits out the drink in his mouth. He finally looks up at the TV with wide eyes.

“Arsenal? Wow, going with the underdogs I see. Wanna explain?”

“It’s because we’re fucking awesome mate,” Niall answers Nick aloud, making Louis and Liam chuckle.

“I just think they got a great group of guys this season,” Harry starts to explain. “Their rookies are looking strong and they have great veterans that they look up to. I’m liking the dynamic going on there right now.”

“But you have to acknowledge their captain has been a little bit distracted,” Nick interjects.

Louis keeps a straight face but can feel himself tighten his grip on the glass in his hand. Liam and Niall look over to him in concern.

“Well it's a new year." Harry shifts in his chair awkwardly. “The recent game they played against Leeds was brilliant. Tomlinson looked strong out there and his team was fully behind him.”

“I don’t know Harry. Arsenal is a hard team to bet on when I can’t even trust their captain.”

Louis watches Harry struggle for an answer and that was enough for Louis to get out of his seat.

“Lou where are you going?” Niall calls after him.

“Going home. I need some sleep.”

Before Louis could leave out the door, he hears Harry’s voice come back through the speakers. Louis takes a chance and glances back at the television.

“I trust Louis." Harry looks into the camera as if he was speaking directly at him. “I believe he can even take his team all the way to the finals. I have never lost my trust in him.”

Louis bites his bottom lip and stares at the man in the television.

“So don’t count Arsenal out just yet." Harry winks at the camera, making Louis smile a bit.

“We sure won’t Harry. Now let’s talk about Manchester United’s-“

“I told you boys I don’t fancy football.” Richard switches the channel to the news. “This is more like it. Keep up to date with real news instead of men kicking a ball around.”

Louis chuckles at the little old man. He should take offence on that, but all he feels is amusement. “You’re right Richard, it’s just a silly game.”

Liam and Niall both snort in their drinks.

Chapter Text

Friday’s were Louis’s favorite days since he got to pick up Olivia and Beckham from school. It doesn't sound that exciting, but with everything going on in Louis’s life, any type of normalcy was valued, and picking up his kids from school was as normal as it could get.

Louis found it endearing when his kids would complain to him about a bad grade or some new teenage drama. Sometimes Louis wouldn’t even be paying attention to what they’re saying, he mostly would just focus on how bright their faces got when they spoke. It was one of his favorite things about being a dad.

Right now Louis was currently inside his car, parked in the pick-up lane with the rest of the parents. He decided to use the Range Rover because the convertible was too small for Mila’s new car seat. Louis had to buy a new one for her a few weeks ago since she grew out the one she had.

His little girl was growing up too fast and Louis didn’t know how to feel.

“Dadda look, Ellie can fly!”

Louis looks back and watches Mila swing "Ellie", her stuffed elephant, in the air.

That elephant was the first thing they gave her when she became part of the family. Mila’s face lit up as soon as Harry had placed the stuff animal in her arms. After that day, Mila had to have the elephant with her everywhere she went.

It was quite a dilemma this morning because Harry forgot to bring the elephant when he dropped her off. Mila would not stop crying until Harry drove all the way back home to retrieve the stuffed animal. It was really odd for Harry to forget something like that.

In fact Harry looked to be all over the place this morning. 

Louis noticed that Harry wasn’t wearing his usual t-shirt and sweat pants. Instead he was wearing his black skinny jeans and a tight fitted button up, with the top three unbuttoned like he always has.

Louis couldn’t get his eyes off of him, but he also couldn’t help but think who was he dressing up for because it certainly wasn’t for him.

Before Harry left, he offered a quick apology for what he said to Louis at the park. Louis didn't want to make a big deal about it, so he just told him to forget about it. There was no point in dragging that out.

The dismissal bell chimes and students start pushing their way out the door. Beckham and Olivia were one of the first ones out and they spot the car almost immediately.

“How was school kids?” Louis asks as they get in.

“Awful, Ms. Reynolds took points off my presentation because she said I was lacking information,” Olivia grumbles. “I think it’s because she doesn’t like me.”

Louis laughs at that. “I’m sure that’s not it Liv. Teachers can be picky when it comes to presentations. Back when I was in school my geography teacher would take off points for every grammar mistake we made."

School was never Louis’s strong suit. He was always focused on football and barely paid attention in class. In fact his teachers would always say he would never amount to anything, but fortunately Louis got to prove those people wrong when he got drafted to Arsenal at only 18 years old.

“Luckily for me I don’t have to worry about school in a few more years,” Beckham chimes in.

Louis quirks his eyebrow at him. “Oh? Why’s that?”

“I’m gonna be drafted by a premier league team like you were dad. No more school once I hit the big leagues,” Beckham said cockily, sounding like a young Louis.

Louis chuckles fondly. “I like your confidence son, but you need a back-up plan just in case it doesn’t work out.”

“Did you have a back-up plan?”

Louis grins at the thought. “Of course I did. Your grandma Jay was very insistent that I have one. She threatened to give away my football gear if I didn't."

Beckham lets out a sigh. “I guess I should come up with my own back-up plan too then.”

Louis hums in agreement, but in the back of his mind he knew Beckham wouldn't have to fall on a back-up plan. His son is already better than him when he was his age so Louis was very confident in him.

Once it was clear to move, Louis backs out of the pick-up lane and starts to make his way back home.

The car was mostly quiet except for the sound of his kid’s thumbs tapping on their phones. After a while, the sound was starting to irritate Louis.

He clears his throat and straighten up his back in his chair. “So kids, how is your papa doing?”

“Didn’t you see him when he dropped off Mila?” Olivia asks without looking up from her phone.

“Yeah but he seemed to be in a rush. Did he have something to do this morning?” Louis lets his curiosity get the better of him.

Olivia pauses her texting and looks over to her brother who was already staring at her. Because of the pause Louis glances back to see why it was so quiet.

“What’s up guys?” Louis asks a little concerned.

Olivia snaps her eyes over to her dad. “Uh nothing. I think papa had some work thing that he had to do.”

Louis was not convinced. He knew when his kids were lying. “Do not lie to me Olivia Rose Tomlinson,” he says in a stern tone.

“I don’t think I should tell you.” Olivia looks down at her lap. “But since you’re asking...papa told us he has a date today.”

And that’s exactly what Louis was afraid of. Louis automatically tightens his hands on the steering wheel, trying to keep himself from exploding.

Louis knew Harry wouldn't stay single forever, but knowing that he was finally going out with other people, made him sick.

Louis takes a deep breath to try to calm his pulse. “With who?”

“Olivia do not tell him,” Beckham instructs his sister.

“Look I don’t care who it is, I’m just curious,” Louis explains nonchalantly. “Olivia go ahead and tell me.”

Olivia hesitates but decides to answer him, not wanting to upset her dad even more. “Nick.”

As soon as Louis registers what she said, he almost hits the car in front of him. He swerves to the next lane just avoiding a collision.

“I told you not to tell him!” Beck yells at Olivia.

“He deserves to know Beckham!”

Louis turns into an empty parking lot and parks the car. He was not in the right state of mind to be driving right now. Louis slumps back in his seat and runs his hands over his face.

Nick. He was seeing Nick fucking Grimshaw. Harry could have picked anyone, but he decided to pick the one man Louis couldn’t stand being around.

Louis honestly was not surprised that Nick jumped on the opportunity to go out with Harry after the divorce. Nick has always had a thing for Harry, even when he was a married man. Louis even told Harry, but he brushed him aside and said he was just being paranoid.

What did surprise him though was that Harry actually agreed to go on a date with Nick. Harry would always say, Nick was just his best friend and nothing more. 

Now Louis was having his doubts.

Louis feels a small hand on his shoulder. “Dad are you okay?” Beckham asks cautiously.

Great now his kids probably think he’s crazy. Louis nods his head. “Yeah, I just need time to think. I’m sorry if I scared you guys.”

“It’s okay dad. We’re sorry for upsetting you. We know how you feel about Nick.”

“No it’s honestly okay.” Louis smiles back at them. “It was just…a shock. Thank you for letting me know. Now how about we get some ice cream?”

Louis sits back up and turns on the ignition.

“That sounds great dad.” Beckham smiles at him.

“How about you Mila? You up for it?” Louis turns around to look at her.

“Yes ice cream!” Mila babbles, waving her elephant above her head excitedly.

Yes, ice cream always made things better.

----------

Turns out ice cream did not make everything better.

Louis was still hung up on the fact Harry is going out with Nick. Just the thought makes him nauseous.

The only remedy Louis could think of was alcohol.

Louis was not one for drinking, especially when he had his kids with him but he really needed to get wasted. So he called up Niall and Liam.

“Louis you said we were gonna be making cookies with the kids!” Niall points his finger accusingly at Louis.

“You are, I’m just gonna go out while you guys make them." Louis shrugs on his jacket and fixes his fringe in the mirror.

“Do you really think getting plastered is gonna solve your problems?” Liam asks him.

Louis dwells on the answer before nodding his head. “Actually yes. I mean isn’t that what Niall suggested for me to do?”

Niall looks at him unimpressed. “I was joking, you dick.”

“Well I’m not, so stop babying me and let me leave.”

Niall crosses his arms. “How about your kids? What did you tell them?”

Louis sighs. “I told them coach wanted to talk to me about something important. Please don’t tell them the truth. I don’t need them to start worrying about me."

Louis hates lying to his children but he had to get out. He couldn’t stay inside, pretending that everything was alright.

“Lou,” Liam whines. “Please just stay here. We can even go out to the pitch so you can let off some steam. I just don’t want you doing anything stupid,” he pleads one more time.

“Look stop your worrying. I’ll be back before 12. I promise I won’t get that wasted.” Louis pats them on the head and leaves out the door.

A few hours later, Louis wakes up in an unfamiliar bed with a pounding headache. Louis squints open his eyes, and winces at the incoming light.

As Louis tries to move he feels a weight on his chest and discovers someone was lying on top of him, and to his surprise it wasn’t a man. Louis hasn’t slept with the opposite sex since his first and only girlfriend in secondary.

He slowly peels himself away from the stranger and quickly pulls on his clothes. Louis felt like he was gonna throw up and it wasn’t because of the liquor.

The girl in the bed was sound asleep and Louis instantly felt bad. Louis got a piece of a paper and left a note explaining how sorry he was.

Louis placed the note on the side table and left out her door.

When Louis managed to get into a taxi, he opened his phone which was full of missed calls and texts. Almost all of them were from Liam and Niall.

1:30 am

Liam: Lou its past 12 where are you?

Liam: this isn’t funny where the hell are you??

Niall: Liam is freaking out over here. Mind checking in? Btw the cookies turned out great :)

1:50 am

Niall: Okay Lou I’m actually getting worried. Where are you??

Niall: the kids are asleep. Liam and I will stay with them. Just please be safe.

2:00 am

Liam: We saw your snap Lou. Please come home.       

6:00 am

Niall: morning Lou. Things are crazy right now. Looks like paps were at the club last night. Call us.

Louis curses under his breath. They probably have pictures of him looking like hell with that girl hanging off him.

Before Louis shuts off his phone, there is one more unread message and Louis hovers his thumb over it, trying to decide if he should even read it.

Louis takes a deep breath and clicks on the message.

6:30 am

Harry: I’m coming over.

Just reading those three words, caused shivers to travel down Louis’s spine. Louis shuts off his phone and tries to mentally prepare himself for what’s to come.

This is bad. Like really fucking bad. Louis was sat on the sofa with Liam and Niall who were cuddling him from both sides. He was nursing a cup of coffee in his hands and his eyes were glued to the TV screen.

There were pictures of him leaving the club with the girl and they both were clearly intoxicated. The paps even managed to get a shot of them making out in the car.

The gossips channels and all the news outlets were on top of it. They were currently showing clips from Louis’s snapchat last night, which he immediately deleted. Louis didn’t even know he had a snapchat.  

But what was worse is since Louis went home with a woman people are now questioning his sexuality. They are accusing him of queer baiting, saying he has been “pretending to be gay” to bring publicity to Arsenal.

Some even had the nerve to bring Harry and their kids into this. Louis had to sit there and listen to these reporters tell him that his own family was part of this whole big conspiracy theory.

Louis finally had enough and shuts off the television.

“I fucked up so bad guys.” Louis swallows down his tears. He has been trying not to cry since he got home.

Niall gently rubs his back. “It’ll be okay Lou. We called your agent to try to get everything under control.”

“Shit I need to call coach. He’s gonna murder me.” Louis starts to frantically search for his phone.

Liam grabs at his hands. “Hey no need. We already called. He wasn’t pissed, just worried. He wants you to call him back when you’re okay to talk.”

Louis relaxes back into the sofa. “You guys are the best people in my life. I don’t know how I would be living without you." Louis tucks his face into Liam’s neck.

“Stop being so sappy.” Niall chuckles. “We still love you even when you make stupid mistakes.”

“I should have listened to you guys.” Louis sniffles. “You told me to stay in but no, I had to be a stubborn arse.”

The three men were suddenly alarmed when they heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

Louis wipes his face dry and tries to make himself look like he hasn’t had the worst morning in his life. By the time he turned around, he is greeted by both his oldest children.

“Good morning kiddos,” Niall says brightly, trying to distract them from their obviously distraught father.

Olivia ignores the Irishman and focuses her attention on Louis with an unreadable expression written on her face. “Morning dad. Did you take care of everything with coach last night?” she asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Louis looks at her with a confused expression but quickly masks it once he realizes what she was talking about. “Oh, yeah I took care of that. It took longer than expected." Louis instantly felt bad for lying to them.

“Well did it require you to get drunk and go home with some random lady?” Olivia spits out with a tone, that Louis has only heard from Harry.

“Liv,” Beck elbows her to make her stop talking.

“What?” Olivia frowns at her brother. “He looked like he was having a good time. Why don’t you tell us all about it dad?”

Louis visibly gulps. “H-How did you guys find out?”

“Hm I don’t know. Maybe because it’s all over the news or maybe it’s because 10 of my friends and even my boyfriend texted me pics of you with that girl!” Olivia says with bitterness laced in her voice.

Louis was too stunned to speak. He has never seen his daughter so upset because of him.

“Olivia I-I’m so sorry. I’m sorry to all of you. It was a stupid mistake,” Louis tries apologizing.

“Everyone is talking about it dad. They're saying I’m not even your daughter! How could you let this happen!?” Olivia stomps her way back to her room, with tears at the corners of her eyes.

Louis gets up to go after her but Liam stops him. “I’ll take care of it Lou." Liam pats his leg and goes after Olivia.

Louis sits back down and put his head in his hands. He never made his children cry before. What kind of father was he?

“It’s okay dad.” Beckham sits down next to him. “You’re sorry so that’s all that matters. Liv will get over it, she’s just upset right now.”

“Beck I’m so sorry for all of this,” Louis mumbles into his hands.

“Maybe if we didn’t tell you about Nick, this wouldn’t have happened,” Beckham thinks aloud.

Louis brings his head back up and looks at his son with determination. “Hey do not blame yourselves. This is my mistake and my mistake only. Of course I was upset when you guys told me, but I should have handled it better than I did.”

“Yeah I would have let you hit me in the gut one more time if that would have helped,” Niall speaks up, effectively lightening up the mood.

Both Louis and Beckham start to laugh. Louis is very lucky to have the friends he has.

Suddenly there was crying from the hallway that catches their attention.

“Looks like Mila is awake. I’ll go take care of her.” Louis stands up and makes his way to her room.

When he gets there, Mila was in her bed with a wet and red face from crying.

Louis smiles down at her and picks her up.

“Shhh its okay, daddy is here. Stop you crying darling.” Louis gently rocks her in his arms. “Hey you’re not mad at me right?”

Mila just sniffles and buries her face into his neck.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to disappoint you guys ever again. I promise.” Louis kisses her on the side of her head.

As Louis is rocking her back to sleep, he hears the front door slam open.

“Where is he?!”

Louis could recognize that deep baritone voice anywhere. Just hearing his voice caused goosebumps to form on Louis's skin.

It was 7 am and he had a hangover; An angry Harry was the last thing he needed right now.

“Mila I need you to pray that papa doesn’t kill daddy okay.” Louis cradles Mila closer, using her as a human shield to protect himself from his ex-husband.

Louis hears Niall trying to calm down Harry outside the door, but Harry was clearly not having it. The door opens revealing a stressed out Niall and a very pissed off Harry.

“Hey H,” Louis says weakly.

Harry stares him down with a death glare and starts to walk up to him. “You absolute bast-” Harry restrains himself when he sees Mila in his arms.

Harry steps back and takes a deep breath. “Louis can I talk to you outside alone please,” he asks through his teeth.

“Um I think I’m fine right here actually,” Louis answers and he swears Harry turned a shade of red darker.

“Louis,” Harry says in a deeper tone than usual, making Louis’s blood turn cold.

“Fine,” Louis grumbles and reluctantly hands off Mila to Niall.

Niall gives him a sympathetic look before Louis follows Harry out like a punished child.

Harry leads them out to the balcony where they could talk in private. This was one instance where Louis wished he had someone around so they could be a witness if Harry killed him.

Louis watches Harry close the screen door. “Before you start yelling at me-“

“I cannot believe you!” Harry interrupts him anyway. “I mean really Louis! What were you even thinking!?”

Louis avoids eye contact. He doesn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes. “I wasn’t. I knew it was a bad idea but I just needed to get out and forget about…” Louis doesn’t dare finish that sentence.

“Forget about what Louis?!” Harry insists he finish his thought.

“It’s nothing. It’s stupid,” Louis crosses his arms in front of himself defensively.

“I hate when you do this. Just talk to me Louis!” Harry’s voice was getting louder by the second. “You told me you changed, but then you go ahead and pull this shit?"

If anything, Louis was not the kind of guy to leave his kids to go get drunk. Harry knew this, that’s why he was so shocked and confused when he heard the news.

"I know it looks bad." Louis runs his hair through his hair. "I just needed to get out of my head for a minute but I’m okay now, I promise.”

Harry snorts. “Oh yeah after you had sex with that woman right? I bet that cleared your mind real quick.”

Louis glares at him. "Screw you Harry. You have no idea what I was going through.”

"Then make me understand! Tell me what's going on Louis!" Harry exclaims, frustrated at Louis's stubbornness.

Louis stays quite.

Harry let's out a groan. “Fine don't tell me, but look you’re clearly not in the right mind space, so I’m going to take the kids.”

As soon as Louis registers the words, he blocks out everything around them.

Louis widens his eyes and he could feel his heart beat faster. “N-No that is not happening,” he says shakily.

“Louis just let me take them for this weekend so you can figure your shit out.”

“Hell no Harry!” Louis shouts at him, probably waking up the other neighbors. “They are my kids too! You have no right to do that!”

As soon as the mention of the kids hit, Louis was not having it. His kids were the only people in his life that made him smile no matter what. Harry was not about to take that away from him. He already took too much.

Harry senses notices Louis’s distress, and tries to backtrack. “Louis just calm down-”

“No, I will not calm down!” Louis can feel tears running down his cheeks out of frustration. “These are my kids that we are talking about Harry! You cannot take them away from me. Please do not take them away."

At this point Louis was in hysterics, barely comprehending what he was saying. “Please, I’m sorry Harry. I-I’m so sorry,” Louis sobs out the last few words.

The whole argument was draining and Louis was exhausted. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and he was shaking uncontrollably.

Harry could tell right away he was having a panic attack and immediately huddles Louis into his arms. “Lou, baby just take a deep breath for me.”

Louis was so out of it that he doesn't even register the pet name. 

Harry sits Louis on the floor and he sits right in front of him. Harry puts his hands on top of Louis’s shoulders, trying to get him to calm down. Louis doesn’t get much panic attacks but when he does, Harry knows exactly what to do.

“I’m not going to take the kids away from you. I promise. I’m sorry I even said that.” Harry was close to tears as well but he tried to stay strong for Louis.

Louis breathes in Harry’s scent and tries to focus on his voice. “I’m sorry Harry. I-It was a mistake.”

Harry tucks Louis’s head into his neck and pulls him in close. “Shhh its okay Lou. Let’s just forget about it.”

Harry strokes his hair and uses his other arm to secure his body against his. As much as Harry was angry at him, he didn’t like seeing Louis like this.

They sit there for a few minutes until Louis had normalized his breathing and his tears had dried up. Louis removes himself for Harry and stands up by himself.

“I uh I’m sorry I freaked out.” Louis runs his hands through his hair.

Harry stand up and brushes the dirt from his knees. “No, I’m sorry for even threatening that. You’re an amazing father to our kids. I-I was just really angry.”

Louis nods his head. “Yeah I know,” he chuckles.

Harry gives him half a smile. “Look Lou whatever is happening with you, you can always tell me okay?”

His face was full of genuine concern, but Louis was not about to tell him the cause for his mental breakdown was because of Nick.

Louis lays his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you Harry. I appreciate that.”

They both hold eye contact before Louis looks away. Louis could never look into those eyes for too long.

Harry clears his throat. “So I’m guessing the kids already found out?”

Louis nods his head. “Yeah Beckham forgave me but Olivia is really mad. Kids from school are giving her a hard time.”

“Olivia will forgive you. She can’t stay mad at you forever.”

Louis bites his bottom lip. “I don’t know. This is different, she has never been this mad at me before. The news is saying a bunch a shit right now since I slept with a woman."

Harry visibly tenses, but hides it well. “Speaking of which, you slept with a woman,” Harry restates with amusement in his eyes.

Louis groans in embarrassment. “I know. I can’t even remember going home with her. It just happened. The media is having an absolutely frenzy with this.”

Harry looks down at the floor and digs his toe into the concrete. “So was this the first person you slept with since you know…me?” There was a tinge of pink on Harry’s cheeks as he asked this.

“Yep,” Louis pops the “p”.

Harry slowly nods his head and both of them avoid eye contact after Louis’s confession.

The awkward silence is thankfully broken up when Olivia comes out. She walks out with her arms crossed and her eyes were focused anywhere but Louis.

“Hey,” Olivia greets them, and finally looks over at Louis. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for yelling at you in there. I was just angry and upset. Also, I can’t stop thinking that you did it because of me.”

Louis walks over to her and puts an arm around her. “No sweetheart this was my mistake. You had nothing to do with this.”

“I know but I’m the one who told you that-”

“No!” Louis interrupts her before she continues. Louis looks over to Harry, who was staring curiously at them. “I mean um, you don’t have to apologize for that.”

Olivia looks over to Harry as well and suddenly gets it. “Oh hey papa. What are you doing here?”

“Just checking up on your dad. I was actually about to leave.” Harry kisses Olivia on the head. “I’m gonna go say bye to the others. I’ll see you later Lou.”

Harry waves them goodbye and leaves them to go inside.

“So I’m guessing you didn’t tell papa.” Olivia looks at her dad expectantly.

“No I did not and I really would appreciate it if he didn’t find out.”

“You know Nick and papa are not serious right? They only went out a few times,” Olivia informs Louis.

Louis shrugs his shoulders. “Doesn’t bother me.”

Olivia snorts. “If that were the case then we wouldn’t even be out here talking about this." She pats her dad on the back and goes back inside.

Louis leans against the railing and tries to clear his mind from everything.

----------

After that whole mess, Louis thankfully had a few days of peace. Louis’s definition of peace was a little different from everyone else’s definition of peace. His definition involved working.

Louis loves football practice. While others viewed practice as tiresome, Louis thought of practice as a sort of happy place. He had a few hours to forget about all his problems and focus on improving his skills and play some football with some of his best mates.

The thing was, football wasn’t just a job to him. It was more than that. Whenever Louis ran on that pitch he didn’t feel like he was working, he was just having fun.

That is why he was in such a good mood this Monday morning. Louis was in his convertible, with the top down, blasting some good old classics.

Everything was pointing toward a good day until he pulled into the parking lot of the practice pitch.

Outside the gate were a mess of cameras and reporters. Louis tried to pull up his roof but it was too late. The reporters recognized the red convertible and ran toward him like a flock of sheep.

Louis slowed down, trying to avoid running anyone over. People stuck their microphones in the car, trying to get a statement from him.

“Hey get the hell out of the way!” Louis warns the group around him.

The words that were being thrown out were more intense than usual.

“Tommo how was the other night huh?”

“Was she a good shag?”

“Was she better than Harry?”

“Are you still gay mate?”

Louis ignores the questions as best as he could and tries to slowly make his way into the building.

Thankfully he gets help from security and they safely remove the remaining reporters from the car.

It takes a full minute for Louis to calm down. Even though he has been in the league for half of his life, he still can’t get used to that.

Louis ignores everyone as he walks into the building and walks straight into the locker room.

As soon as he flings open the door, he makes his presence known. “Alright can someone tell me why I was bombarded by a bunch of arseholes with cameras out-” Louis stops midsentence when he looks up.

Inside the locker room was not just full of his teammates but also journalists.

The journalists all give him an unimpressed glare, but decide to continue with whatever they were doing before Louis came in. This is why Louis had a bad rep in media.

“Sorry about that everyone. I’m sure not all of you are arseholes,” Louis awkwardly amends to the room.

Louis grabs a nearby teammate by his arm. “McCain, wanna explain to me why there are rats in our locker room?” Louis whispers so he doesn’t upset the journalists any more than he already has.

“It’s media day Lou. Open practice and all that. No one told you?”

Does it look like anyone has told him? Louis shakes his head and let’s his teammate go.

“Arseholes huh? I guess you married one then,” a voice chimes in from behind him.

Louis turns around with a bright smile. “You’re the very exception Haz.”

“Oh wow I’m very flattered.” Harry bats his eyes at him.

Louis shakes his head fondly. “How come you didn’t tell me you’ll be here?”

"We were too busy fighting for me to bring it up." Louis winces at the mention of their fight. “Also I thought you knew, since you are captain.”

“Well looks like no one tells the captain shit anymore since I had no idea this was happening,” Louis grumbles, still upset that his Monday was ruined.

“Or maybe you just don’t pay attention,” Harry says cheekily.

“Smartass.”

“Dickhead,” Harry comes back immediately.

Harry and Louis both start chuckling at their childish behavior. Harry bites his bottom lip and Louis has a hard time concentrating after that. It was moments like this that gave Louis hope that there was still a chance for them.

“Well hello there Lewis.”

And it was people like Nick Grimshaw that ruined those chances.

“Grimshaw,” Louis says with a fake enthusiasm. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“Would you rather I call you by my other nickname for you? But I should warn you its rather rude.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “And this is exactly why I won’t do an interview with you.”

“Oh please,” Nick snorts. “The real reason is because the last time I did, we almost had a fight on live TV.”

“Would have been good television as well, don’t you think?” Louis poses the question before leaving to go and change into his kit.

That was his first time seeing Nick since he found out about him and Harry. Knowing that man has been fooling around with the love of his life, made him see red. So, Louis had to get out of there before he did something he regrets.

Since reporters were milling around, there was bound to be someone coming up to ask him some questions. So to avoid this from happening Louis puts on his headphones and turns around, to try to discourage people from coming over.

Was it rude? Yes, but Louis was not here to answer questions. 

His tactic was working great before someone decides to tap him on the shoulder. Louis turns around to see Harry’s smiling face staring back at him. Of course he would be the only one brave enough to come up to him.

Louis takes of his headphones, while glaring at his ex. “Look can I get changed first before we start doing this.”

“Actually wasn’t coming here to interview you but sure go ahead.” Harry leans against the locker and waits for him.

Louis was expecting him to leave and let him change in private, but it looks like Harry was not leaving.

Louis decides not to stress over it since Harry has seen him naked multiple times. Louis strips off his shirt and throws it in his locker.

“Lou that’s going to get wrinkled.” Harry grabs the shirt and starts to fold it.

“Thanks mum. Mind folding my trousers too while you’re at it?” Louis suddenly throws his trousers in Harry’s face.

Louis starts laughing uncontrollably, while Harry stands there with an unamused expression.

“That’s not funny,” Harry grumbles but still folds his trousers anyway.

Louis pretends to wipe a tear form his eye. “Ah but it was.”

Harry takes the folded trousers and neatly places it into the locker alongside his shirt. “So what’s up with you and Nick?” Harry asks.

Louis chuckles darkly. “Look I know we’ve been separated for quite some time now, but you should remember that me and Nick do not get along.”

“No, I mean you seemed more agitated with him more than usual.”

“Just having a bad day is all,” Louis grumbles. “Can you hand me my shin pads please." Louis gestures over to a shelf in his locker.  

As Harry goes to get the shin pads, he spots a collage of pictures hanging in Louis’s locker.

“Well this is cute,” Harry comments as his eyes glance over all the photos of their children.

One photo stood out in particular though and Harry pauses on it. Harry uses his fingertips to gently touch the photo as if he was scared it would break.

Louis follows his movements and freezes. The photo was a picture of Harry and him on their wedding day. It was before they were even dressed in their tuxes because Harry insisted they take one last photo as fiancés’. Louis always planned on removing it but he could never find himself able to.

“I’m surprised you still have this up,” Harry says, still looking at the photo.

Louis clears his throat. “Yeah well I never got around to taking it down.”

Finally Harry turns to look at him with an unreadable expression. "Louis it’s-”

“Y-You know what, I really need to get to the pitch,” Louis interrupts him before he can even finish. “I’ll see ya out there H.”

Louis throws his remaining football gear on and rushes out the locker room without looking back.

Harry watches his ex-husband walk away and decides not to chase after him.

Liam passes the ball to Louis. “So what’s up with you and Harry?” Liam asks.

“What do you mean?” Louis dribbles the ball before passing it over to Niall.

“Oh don’t play dumb Lou. We saw you two giggling in there. Looked proper cute as well,” Niall answers while kicking the ball into the net.

Louis rolls his eyes. This is what Louis hated about the locker room. There is absolutely no privacy.

Instead of responding Louis shakes his head and calls the rest of his teammates for a team huddle.

“Alright lads, I just want to address this before we start.” Louis takes a deep breath before continuing. “I know you all saw the news so I don’t have to explain it, but I do want to state that despite what everyone is saying I'm still into cock so don't go thinking I turned straight."

"Yes! I still have a chance!" Niall exclaims, jokingly.

Louis and the rest of the boys start laughing. You can always count in Niall to lighten the mood.

"Alright is there any concerns or questions?"

Nobody speaks up.

“Good, now coach wants us to run 10 laps around the pitch before we start. Got to show the world we’re not a bunch of lazy bums. Now off you go!” Louis watches his team start sprinting off in the opposite direction.

The sidelines were full of camera crews and reporters, who were observing the team closely. Louis knew if his boys made any mistake, one out of these dozens of cameras would capture it.

Out of reflex Louis scans the crowd for one person in particular and finally spots him in front a camera, talking into a mic. Louis always liked watching Harry get all serious for the camera, it was hot.

The image was ruined once Louis notices that Nick was right next to Harry. They were standing a little too close in Louis's opinion. 

Louis breaks his stare once he sees that some of his teammates have already completed one lap and decides that he needed to catch up.

10 laps later, coach had split them into two teams. Coach had also decided to leave Louis out so he could “observe the rookies” but Louis knew it was punishment for his antics last weekend.

On any other day Louis would argue this but he was smart enough to not argue with his own coach in front of the media.

So Louis stood with the rest of the team’s staff and observed. Coach blew his whistle, signaling for them to start.

Louis walked around the sideline taking note on everyone’s form. Everyone looked to be in good shape which Louis was happy for.

At one point one of the rookies gets smoked by Liam and misses his tackle, ultimately letting Liam score a goal because of it.

“Hey Smith come over here lad!” Louis waves him over.  

Smith jogs over and stops in front of Louis. “I know I blew it on the coverage Tommo. It’s just Liam’s really fast,” he says out of breath.

“Yeah but not as fast as he used to be. It’s not about how quick you are, it’s about strategy. If you’re gonna go and steal the ball, make sure to get right in front of him.”

Smith look at him in doubt. “I tried doing that. I’m telling you he’s just too quick.”

Louis could hear the frustration in his voice and he understands. Starting out with a new team can be difficult, it takes time to get used to this level of football.

“Watch his movements and wait for an opening,” Louis instructs. “I know that’s easier said than done but here let me help you.”

Louis grabs a spare ball and set it down at his own feet. Louis instructs Smith to come at him and try to steal the ball.

Smith looks at him with doubt but does what his captain says. He runs up to Louis ready to kick the ball from his feet but his aim is off and accidentally hits Louis on the shin instead.

Louis yelps in surprise and falls on his back to the ground. Thank god for his shin pads, or else he would be in excruciating pain.

In all the commotion, somehow Smith had tripped on his own two feet and fell on top of Louis.

Louis notices the weight on his chest and looks down to see Smith’s body right on top of him. “Well that couldn’t have turned out any worse.” Louis starts to laugh.

Smith looks down at him, horrified and Louis could see the blush tinged on his cheeks. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry Louis. This is so embarrassing!”

Louis actually found it quite endearing. "Nah it’s okay. Just get off me yeah?”

Smith gasps when he realizes he was basically straddling his captain and quickly stands up. “I’m sorry Louis. I guess I was just nervous,” Smith says as he helps Louis off the floor.

Louis dusts his shorts. “Hey it’s okay mate. We just got to work on your technique.”

“God I feel like an idiot.” Smith hides his face into his hands.

Louis pries his hands from his face, so he can look at him. “Look you’re new, it’s okay to be nervous. You just need extra practice.”

“I guess it doesn’t help that I have a crush on the captain, does it?” Smith admits shyly.

Louis widens his eyes at the confession and immediately drops the other man's hands, that he was still holding. “I um, I’m flattered Smith but I don’t date my teammates.”

Smith let’s out a dry laugh. “Wow today is not my day.”

Louis pats him on the shoulder. “Sorry lad. Now get back into the game before coach starts yelling at us.”

Smith nods his head and starts to walk out back into the pitch.

Before he gets too far Louis asks him. “Oi what’s your first name Smith?”

The rookie looks back and smiles. “It’s Lucas!”

Louis reciprocates the smile and let’s his teammate get back into the game. Louis walks back to his spot on the sideline, but stops short when he sees Harry glaring at him.

“Look Harry, I really don’t have time for questions right now. You have to wait till the end like everyone else.” Louis walks past him, to go get some water.

“I was just wondering when you got so handsey with your teammates,” Harry says with a hint of bitterness evident in his voice.

Louis chugs down one of the cups and tosses it into the bin. “That is a question,” Louis says matter-of-factly. “Also it was an accident. I was trying to help him with something and he tripped.”

Louis watches Harry cross his arms. “Yeah right,” Harry scoffs. “He definitely fell on you on purpose. Basically just laid himself on top of you.”

“And how would you know ‘Mr. Trips over his feet all the time’?” Louis raises his eyebrows at him.

“I can ask my camera guy to show you footage,” Harry says seriously. “I think he was recording it when it happened.” Harry starts to turn around, to search for his camera guy but Louis grabs his arm.

“No stop Harry. Why are you even worried about this?”

The question makes Harry fish mouth for an answer. “I-I am not. I’m just looking out for you is all.”

Louis snorts, sure. “First off, I do not need to be looked after and second Smith already admitted that he has a crush on me.”

Harry widens his eyes. “He did? And what did you say?”

“I told him I don’t date my teammates.” Louis stands back and looks at his ex-husband with suspicion.

“Oh really? Well then I’ll just let you get back to work.” Harry rubs at his neck awkwardly.

“I cannot believe you.” Louis chuckles drily. “Are you actually jealous right now?”

“Of course not,” Harry denies right away. “Like I said I was just trying to look out for you,” he says unconvincingly.

Louis has been with this man too long to know that he was lying. “You know this is rich coming from the guy who is dating someone that you know I cannot stand.”

Harry feigns ignorance. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh come off it Harry!” Louis raises his voice, bringing attention from other reporters around them. “I know damn well that there is something going on with you and Nick.”

Harry freezes. “H-How did you find out?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you could have picked anyone, literally anyone! But you decide to pick Grimshaw! The only guy that made me feel insecure and jealous when he was with you.”

“I told you nothing was going on with me and Nick when we were married!” Harry yells in frustration. “I would never hurt you like that Louis. I loved you and only you. He was just a friend!”

Louis tries to pretend Harry’s past tense use of the word “love” didn’t hurt.

“So what, now that you and I are done, you and Nick decided to get together?” Louis throws his hands up in the air out of frustration. “You have to see how fucked up that is Harry!”

Every camera was aimed at the two of them but Louis and Harry didn’t seem to care. They were too involved in their own argument to notice.

“Why are you so angry about this?! I don’t even know how you…wait a minute.” Harry squints his eyes at him. “The kids were the ones who told you, aren’t they?”

Louis’s silence was all he needed to hear.

“This makes so much sense now!” Harry laughs humorlessly. “The reason why Olivia felt guilty was because she was the one who told you, wasn’t she? You went out that night because you found out Nick and I were together?!”

“This is the exact reason why I didn’t want you to find out." Louis huffs in frustration. "I knew you were just going to take the piss out of me.”

“Well of course I am! You fucked a random girl because you don’t know how to control your emotions!”

At this point Harry was right in front of Louis, yelling in his face.

“Fuck you Harry,” Louis says through clenched teeth.

They stared each other down before Louis’s coach decides to intervene.   

“Gentlemen let me remind you that this is football practice not a soap opera.” Coach pushes them apart before things got too out of hand. “I’m sorry Harry, but I think it’s best if you pack up your stuff and leave.”

Harry looks like he wants to argue but decides against it. He glares one more time at Louis before going back to his camera crew.

Next, coach turns to Louis with disappointment etched into his face. “I’m very upset with you Tomlinson, but I will not yell at you with these cameras here. They already have all the dramatic footage they need. I suggest you get back to being a captain to your team.”

Louis nods his head solemnly and proceeds to rejoin his team out on the pitch.

His whole team seemed to have paused their game and watched the whole scene unfold. Louis grabs the ball from Niall’s hands.

“What are you boys standing around for?! We have a game to train for!” Louis sets the ball down and starts a new game with a kick off, inserting himself into the game.

Louis glances back where Harry is and spots him with Nick's arm around him. He watches them leave together until they were out of sight.

Niall walks up to him and gently lays a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay Lou?”

“No, no I’m not okay," Louis answers honestly. “Now get back into the goal. We have a game to win.”

Chapter Text

A smile automatically makes its way onto Harry’s face when he feels a warm body next to him. Without hesitation he wraps his arms around the person and snuggles them from behind. He closes his eyes and starts to slip back to sleep.

“Harry? I thought we didn’t do cuddling?” the body underneath him groans.

Harry’s eyes pop open and he quickly removes himself from Nick.

“I’m sorry, it was just- sorry,” he stutters out, embarrassed at his actions.

“It’s okay if you want to. I just thought you didn’t like cuddling.” Nick yawns.

It’s not like Harry didn’t like cuddling, he actually loved cuddling, but for some reason it never felt right when he held Nick or anyone else that wasn't Louis in his arms.

This new “thing” with Nick was strictly friends with benefits. Their arrangement first started a month ago when Harry decided to get drunk and rant to Nick about how lonely and sexually frustrated he was.

That morning when Harry was nursing his hang over, Nick offered to help him with his “problem”. Of course Harry initially said no, but he relented after he couldn’t take the loneliness anymore. They even tried dating at one point, but they both agreed if felt too weird after the first date, so they agreed to just keep it casual. 

Harry was afraid that their friendship would get weird, but so far Nick has been really amazing about the whole thing. Nothing was awkward and no lines were blurred. So far it’s been really good, except for the fact Louis found out.

“No, sorry let’s just forget about it.” Harry stretches his arms above his head and glances over at the clock. His eyes widen when he sees the time. “Oh shit!”

Harry jumps out of bed and starts to throw on his clothes that were scattered throughout the room.

“What’s wrong?” Nick sits up, looking at Harry still in a sleepy daze.

“You have to leave now!” Harry throws Nick’s clothes at him.

“What? Why?”

“Because Louis is dropping Mila off and I can’t have you here when he comes! Shit where is my shirt?” Harry starts rummaging under his bed.

They both had a lot to drink last night so it was kind of a blur. The only thing Harry remembers is being upset about Louis and then Nick being there to help relieve some of his frustrations.

“Wait why do you care if he sees me?” Nick asks.

Harry stands up straight and stares at Nick. “Because he hates you, and I don’t want to strain mine and his relationship any more than it has already.”

It’s been a few days since their big argument on the pitch, and things between Harry and Louis have been more tense than usual. They avoided each other like the plague and only talked to each other if necessary.

For the sake of their kids, Harry wanted to at least go back to how they were before, when they actually talked to each other like civilized people. Having Nick half naked in his house would definitely not help.

Because of Louis’s dramatic confrontation on the pitch, everyone was aware of Harry and Nick’s “relationship”, if you can even call it that.

Sky Sports even released an article with the headline, Sky Sports Very Own Love Story, accompanied with a picture of Harry and Nick on the cover.

The media were always good at creating false narratives out of these very real situations. Harry just wants everyone to mind their own business and leave them alone, but sadly that is not the world that they live in.

DING.DING.DING

The sound of the doorbell stops Harry’s search for his shirt.  

“I got it!” Nick exclaims and bolts out of the bedroom before Harry could even react.

“Oh no you don’t!” Harry hurries after him to try to prevent him from reaching the door.

But by the time Harry ran down the stairs Nick had already opened the door in nothing but his sweatpants. Harry quickly runs up behind him, out of breath and without a shirt as well.

Louis takes in the sight of the two half-naked men and takes note of their heavy breathing. “Well isn’t this a good morning?” Louis says sarcastically.

“Morning Louis.” Harry tries to smile but it turns into more into a grimace.

“Yeah good morning Lewis.” Nick wraps his arm around Harry’s waist.

Harry tenses in his embrace and looks over at him questioningly.

Louis’s eyes follow the movement but quickly redirects his eyes to the ground.

“Look I can take Mila for a little bit longer if you want.” Louis taps his foot impatiently, completely contradicting what he was saying.  

“No that’s okay. Nick was just leaving. Isn’t that right Nick?” Harry discretely elbows him in the stomach.

“Ow what the…oh I mean yes. I’ll just go change.” Nick goes to kiss him, but Harry turns his head so he kisses his cheek instead.

Nick looks dejected, but Harry did not want to make things more awkward than they already are. Harry had no idea why Nick was acting like this, but it was obviously not helping the situation.

As soon as Nick was gone Harry invites Louis inside.

“Louis I’m-”

“Look I don’t have much time.” Louis carefully hands Mila to Harry. “I’m already late for practice.”

Harry studies Louis’s face and notices the dark circles under his eyes. “You look exhausted. Are you okay?”

Louis rubs his eyes. “Mila had a bit of a cough last night and couldn’t go to sleep. I tried giving her some cough syrup but she wouldn’t take it. So I stayed up with her the whole night.”

Harry winces in sympathy. “Let me make you some tea.”

He doesn’t wait for an answer and puts Mila on the floor to play with her toys.

As Harry boils up some water he can feel Louis enter the room. He could always feel when Louis was around. It was like a sixth sense he gained after being married to him for so long.

“Well I really missed seeing this every morning,” Louis speaks up.

Harry turns around and leans back against the counter. “What, me shirtless making you tea?” he smirks.

“No, you making me tea with come stains on your pants.”

Harry’s face falls. He looks down but finds nothing there.

“You’re an arse.” Harry glares at his ex-husband.

Louis chuckles. “Just teasing, sorry. I uh, want to say thank you for making me tea. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I got here.”

Harry finishes up the tea, making it just how Louis likes it.

“It’s no problem at all.” Harry hands him the cup. “I’m just sorry you had to stay up all night. You could have called me you know.”

Harry cringes as Louis takes a sip of his tea. He never knew how he did that while it was still scolding hot.

“I did, but you didn’t answer. I guess I know why now,” Louis says against his cup.

Harry feels his face heat up. “I’m sorry Louis. I didn’t want him to be here when you got here.”

Louis shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. This is your home and your life. I don’t have any say in it.”

For some reason that didn’t make Harry feel any better.

“Uh alright.” Harry hesitates before asking what he’s been waiting to ask him. “Louis…can we talk about what happened on the pitch?”

Louis sputters on his tea. “W-Wow would you look at the time. I can hear coach already giving me one of his lectures.”

He puts down his half-drunken tea and heads straight for the door. Always running.

“We have to talk about it.” Harry follows right after him, not wanting this conversation to end just yet. 

“Uh we really don’t. We fought. We always fight Harry, it’s okay.”

Louis opens the door, but Harry shuts it closed, using his body to block his way.

“Can you stop running away from me and listen?” Harry asks frustrated. “This fight was different and we both know it.”

Louis let’s out a sigh and licks his lips nervously. “Look I’m sorry for being an arse that day. Is that what you want to hear? Now can you get out of my way please?”

“But with Nick-“

Louis quickly cuts him off, “Look I could care less of what you and Nick are doing with each other. I realize that it’s not my place anymore.”

This was not what Harry had in mind when he asked if they could talk. Harry was hoping that he and Louis could just sit down and have a civilized conversation, but it looks like that’s not going to happen.

Before Louis could leave, Harry needed to ask one more question.

“Are we okay?” He knew it was a stupid question to ask.

Louis shoots him a sad smile. “When was the last time we were ever okay? I’ll text you later to see how Mila is doing. Bye Harry.”

Louis gently pushes Harry out of the way of the door and practically jogs to his car. Harry stands there and watches the man he used to love drive away.

Deep in Harry’s heart he knew he still had some love for Louis, but it wasn’t as strong as it used to be. Harry convinced himself that they grew out of love for one another and that their relationship could not be saved.

There are times where Harry has hated himself for getting a divorce, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He and Louis weren’t working like they used to. They were practically strangers living in the same house.

Harry wanted to slap himself for even thinking about leaving Louis. They had kids and they had just adopted Mila. He didn’t want to be the one who broke their family apart, but at the same time he was so tired of the fighting.

Once the divorce was finalized, Harry felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was actually able to sleep, knowing that he wasn’t going to get into an argument the next morning. It wasn’t until a few weeks in that Harry noticed this empty feeling in his heart.

Louis’s absence from his life was felt right away. Harry didn’t realize how much Louis had embedded his way into his life until he left.

Every once in a while Harry would find things that reminded him of Louis. It was like finding little treasures that were just fueling his pain.

Even with all the pain and heartache, Harry doesn’t regret getting a divorce. Harry believes that if they were still married, they would be constantly fighting and unhappy.

The divorce gave both of them the opportunity to grow and reflect on past mistakes. Even though Louis was so reluctant to agree to separate, Harry could see that he was doing much better without him.

Louis actually made time for the kids and took on some real responsibility. He also looked physically well, probably because he now spends most of his time working out instead of fighting with him.

So maybe the divorce was a good thing. Maybe Harry and Louis were never meant to be married. As long as the kids and Louis were happy, then it was worth getting a broken heart.

“Is the prick gone?” Nick comes down the stairs, this time fully clothed.

“Huh?” Harry’s eyes finally leave the now empty driveway. “Oh yeah he left and please don’t call him that."

“Sorry force of habit.” Nick shrugs his shoulders.

“So, what the hell was that earlier?” Harry questions.

“What was what?”

“Wrapping your arm around me and trying to kiss me in front of Louis. Why did you do that?”

“Oh that,” Nick laughs. “I just wanted to see Louis get jealous. It’s kinda hot but very amusing at the same time.”

Harry frowns. “Did you just call Louis hot?”

“Oh come on anyone with eyes can see that he’s good looking, sadly even me.”

Harry pretends to gag. “I think I might have puked in my mouth.”

“Oh stop being a drama queen.” Nick rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry I won’t come for your man. He’s too annoying too put up with.”

“He’s not my-"

Harry is cut off by tiny coughs coming from the living room. When he gets there Mila is sitting on the floor, on the verge of tears.

He quickly picks her up and winces when he feels how warm her forehead is.

“Oh my love, you’re burning up.”

Nick comes up next to him and feels her head too. “Yeah you’re right and she looks a bit pale as well. Maybe you should take her to the doctors.”

Harry agrees with him and already starts to think about what he needs to bring for the appointment.

“Also if you need to take off the whole week, do it,” Nick advises him.

“But we have that segment with Manchester United. I can’t let you take on that project by yourself.”

Nick waves him off. “Oh I’ll be fine. Family comes first. Anyways this just means more fit footballers for me.”

Harry shakes his head, amused. “You are shameless.”

“I know!” he sings. “I’ll see you later Harry. I hope Mila gets better.”

After the door shuts, Harry looks down at Mila and worry fills his body. Her face was pale and she was breathing heavier than usual.

Harry immediately got into “protective dad mode” and started to pack for the doctors.

“It’s okay Mila, we’re going to see Doctor Shuster. She’s gonna make you feel all better.”

Harry puts a hat on her and decides to bring an extra blanket just in case she gets cold.

It was actually a quite warm day out, but Harry didn’t want whatever Mila had to worsen.

Harry shoots a quick text to Louis saying that he was going to bring Mila to the doctors, but knowing Louis he probably won’t see it until after practice.

Louis has a weird personal rule of no phones during practice, so he never got his messages until it ended. This was just one of many things that caused a lot of fights back then.

Harry secures Mila in her car seat and heads straight to the doctor’s office.

“Harry!”

Harry looks down the corridor and surprisingly sees Louis running toward him. If it was under any different circumstances Harry would be laughing at his appearance.

Louis was still in his dirty football uniform and boots. His greasy hair was held back with a headband and he had grass stains all over his skin.

He looked like a child coming home from football practice and Harry couldn’t deny he looked very cute.

Harry stands up to greet him. “Hey, you’re just in time. Doctor Shuster is gonna see us in a bit."

Louis bends down to kiss Mila on her head. “I’m sorry Harry. I thought it was just a cough.”

“You couldn’t have known. I think she just got the fever as soon as you dropped her off. It’s okay,” Harry reassures him.

Louis relaxes a little, but there is still concern etched on his face.

“I texted Beck and Olivia saying that Liam was going to pick them up from school,” Louis said.

“We can always count on Liam.” Harry pauses for a minute before continuing. “I have to say I’m kinda surprised you’re here”

Louis looks up with a frown. “Why?”

Harry shrugs his shoulder. “Because of you’re no phone policy rule when practicing. You never get my texts until after practice.”

Louis sighs like he was disappointed in his past self. “Yeah well that was before I started using this bad boy.” He holds out his wrist that was covered with an apple watch. The same apple watch Harry got him a couple years ago for Christmas. 

“You’re actually using it?" Harry asks, shocked. "I thought you said it was too ‘obnoxious’.”

Harry remembers how Louis refused to wear the damn thing and had even threatened to return it.

In response, Harry simply rolled his eyes and walked away, saying that he could do whatever he fucking wanted with it.

“It is but it also keeps me connected with you guys, so I could care less of how flashy it looks.”

Harry just stares at Louis for a moment. That’s definitely not what the old Louis would have said.

“Mila Tomlinson?” Both Harry and Louis stand up. “We can see you now.” The nurse gestures for them to follow her.

She leads them to one of the rooms and tells them the doctor will be in shortly.

“What’s up with this hat?” Louis takes off the tiny Burberry cap Mila had on.

“I saw it in the store the other day. Isn’t it cute?”

The only reason Harry bought it was because it reminded him of Louis’s cap and he really wanted to see Mila in one.

“It looks exactly like mine.” Louis smiles. “I didn’t know they made small caps like this.”

Louis was genuinely fascinated at the miniature hat and his face was adorably scrunched up. Harry was trying his hardest not to fond over him.

“Well they actually make a lot of baby clothing,” Harry says excitedly. “I’m gonna see if Gucci makes anything like this. Can you imagine Mila in…why are you laughing at me?” Harry pouts, as Louis starts to full on cackle.

“You’re gonna turn our child into one of those Instagram babies,” Louis laughs.

Harry gasps. “I would never exploit our gorgeous girl like that. Anyway Instagram would die of cuteness if we ever created a page for her. Isn’t that right Mila?”

 Mila starts coughing in response. “Hurts papa.”

That makes Harry’s heart break and he cuddles her further into his arms.

“You’ll be okay darling.” Louis looks down at her in concern. 

Harry strokes her hair. “I hate seeing our kids sick like this.”

“I know me too, but Doctor Shuster will find out what’s wrong.” Louis tries to ease his worries.

A few minutes later there’s a knock on the door and the doctor walks in.

Doctor Shuster has been their pediatrician since Beckham, and the kids absolutely adore her. Louis and Harry wouldn’t trust anyone else to treat their children.

“Would you look at that, it’s the Tomlinsons! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you here,” she says with her trademark smile.

“Actually he’s back to Styles now,” Louis corrects right away.

Harry internally cringes. This is one of those small things about the divorce that he hated. Everyone would still call him Mr. Tomlinson, and the thing was he didn’t even correct them because for one he didn’t want to make it awkward, and two he secretly still liked being called Mr. Tomlinson.

“Oh I forgot, I’m sorry. It was quite a shame when I found out. You two were amazing together.” Doctor Shuster was always someone who wasn’t scared to share her opinion. “Well anyways Mr. Styles and Mr. Tomlinson. What brings you here?”

Harry clears his throat. “Um it’s just Mila has been coughing, and she’s gotten a fever. We don’t know if it’s just a cold or something else.”

“I see, well its good you brought her here. You can never be too safe.” Doctor Shuster looks down at Mila. “Hi there darling, we’re gonna fix you right up. Don’t worry.”

She asks Harry to let Mila sit in his lap while she examines her. She pulls up her shirt and uses her stethoscope to listen to her heart and lungs.

Harry studies her face closely to indicate if there’s anything wrong, but Doctor Shuster keeps her face neutral throughout the whole examination.

After doing some more checks, Doctor Shuster pulls out her laptop and starts typing.

Louis and Harry stare at her, waiting anxiously for her to say something.

“Alright lads it seems like Mila here has pneumonia.” Doctor Shuster notices their faces turn grave, and she quickly reassures them. “Don’t worry, many children go through this and thankfully we caught it early. We can easily treat this with some antibiotics.”

Both parents turn to one another with knowing looks. Mila was not a fan of taking any type of medication and it would always take both of them to give it to her.

“But before that, let's take some x-rays of her chest to confirm what exactly is causing the infection. It’s painless and quick, I swear. So when you guys are ready you can follow me.”

Harry holds Mila close to his body and doesn’t realize he was biting his bottom lip until Louis touches his arm.

“Hey no need to worry. She’ll be okay.” Louis tries to comfort him.

Harry gives him a small smile. “I know. I’m just nervous.”

“Me too but we can do this…together?” Louis holds out his hand to Harry.

Harry immediately latches on. “Together.”

They look at each other silently, trying to focus on the comfort they are getting from one another.

“You two are still cute as ever I see,” Doctor Hart coos at the two men.

Harry totally forgot she was there. He blushes and goes to remove his hand but then he feels Louis tighten his grip.

The gesture makes Harry look up at him curiously, but Louis keeps his eyes in front of him. Without making a big deal about it Harry squeezes his hand back.

It should feel weird but for some reason it doesn’t.

After the x-rays were done, they took Mila back home to rest.

They both were next to each other on the sofa, watching Mila take her nap. Harry told Louis that he would be fine without him, but Louis insisted on staying.

Louis was currently wearing some of Harry’s clothes since he was still had on his football kit. Harry of course isn’t affected by this in the slightest.

“At least she’s sleeping now,” Louis says quietly, trying not to wake Mila up.

“Yeah, but look she’s breathing a little harder than usual,” Harry says while caressing her cheek with his finger. “I think I’m gonna take off for the whole week, so I can watch over her.”

“I’ll take off too then,” Louis says right away, already taking out his phone to probably text his coach.

“You don’t have to do that. I can handle this on my own.”

“I know you can, but how about when you have to give her medicine Harry? We both know neither of us can do that by ourselves.”

And yeah he did have a point. Trying to make Mila take medicine was like trying to make Louis drink one of his green smoothies: a lot of crying, whining and puking.

“How about that game coming up? You can’t miss practice.”

Louis shakes his head. “I need to be with my daughter. My team can handle a few days without me. Plus I’m captain, I can afford to miss a couple practice days,” Louis says confidently.

Harry rolls his eyes. Louis’s overconfidence has always gotten him in trouble.

“Well don’t go blaming me when you’re the one to blow the game for the team then.”

“Oh please.” Louis snorts. “You know me better than that.”

Harry adjusts himself so his body was facing Louis. “You know cocky does not look good on you.”

“That’s not what you were saying when we were married.”

Harry absolutely hates it when he says that.

“When did I ever say I liked your cockiness?” Harry asks incredulously.

“I mean you never complained before." Louis chuckles. “Plus you would give me those bedroom eyes of yours whenever I did my goal celebration.”

Louis’s goal celebration was definitely something else. After scoring, he would run around the field and slide to his knees in front of the other team’s bench. Sometimes he would sneak in a cheeky middle finger in there if the refs weren’t paying attention.

“Ah yes, the Tommo Celebration.” Harry sighs. “You know there’s a difference between confidence and cockiness, right sweetheart?”

Louis grins mischievously. “Okay fine, maybe you didn’t admire my cockiness, but you did admire my cock-”

Harry immediately puts his hand over Louis’s mouth. “Stop right there.”

Louis giggles against his hand, creating warmth to spread throughout his arm.

Harry yelps when he feels Louis’s tongue touch his palm.

“You’re a child.” Harry wipes his palm on his jeans.

Louis laughs at the disgusted look on Harry’s face. “Just for you. Anyway since I’m gonna help take care of Mila, you mind if I stay here for the week?”

“Yeah of course,” Harry says without hesitation. “You can take one of the guest rooms.”

“Thanks H. Gonna be nice getting homecooked meals from you again.”

This makes Harry fill with pride. If there is one thing Harry was good at it, it was making a damn good meal.  

Before they started living together Louis told him he never used the kitchen in his flat. Harry was certain that he was lying, but when he saw the mountains of pizza boxes and take-a-away piled up on the counter, he knew he needed to intervene.

When Harry and Louis moved in together, Harry made it his mission to make sure Louis was getting 3 balanced meals every day, but now that Louis didn’t have him anymore it makes him wonder if he went back to his old habits.

The concern must be evident on his face because Louis starts to reassure him.

“Hey don’t worry. Liam and the internet have been teaching me how to cook,” Louis says proudly.

“What? I’ve been trying to teach you to cook for years!”

“Yeah and remember whenever you tried to teach me we would get um…distracted.”

Harry feels his face warm up. “That’s not my fault! You just didn’t take it seriously.”

“I tried, but seeing you all bossy and wearing an apron turned me on for some reason. I think I might have a kink for sexy chefs.”

Harry snorts out a laugh. “Well I’m sorry that I’m distractedly gorgeous.”

“You should be. It’s very dangerous.”

Harry turns to look at him and is met with a serious gaze.

And there was that spark again. The same spark Harry felt when he first met Louis. It was the spark that he always tried to feel whenever he met someone new, but of course he never felt it with anyone else.

The moment is broken up when Louis’s phone starts to go off.

“Hello?” Louis answers promptly. “Oh hi there.”

Harry tries not to listen in but that was hard since he was sitting right next to him.

“Yeah I’m sorry I haven’t called you back, I’ve been busy…I don’t think I can anytime soon…Again I’m so sorry, it’s just bad timing right now, but once my schedule frees up you’ll be the first person I call, I promise.”

Whatever the person on the other line says, it causes Louis to smile against his phone.

Harry decides to look away after that. He didn’t know who was making Louis smile like that, but he was getting a weird feeling in his chest.

Louis hangs up. "Where is Liam? He was supposed to bring the kids back from school already,” he said while looking at the time.

“He probably took them to the park. He loves spoiling them.” Harry casually looks off to the side. “So who were you talking to?”

"Uh it was just Lucas.” Louis doesn’t explain any further.

“Lucas?” Harry searches his brain, trying to recall any Lucas’ he knows. “Wait, Lucas Smith? The rookie?”

The same rookie who “fell” on Louis during practice. Harry couldn’t believe it when he saw it happen. The guy literally threw himself at Louis. It was embarrassing to watch honestly.

“Yeah, he just wanted to go out for drinks,” Louis says nonchalantly.

There’s that odd aching feeling in his chest again.

“Thought you didn’t date guys on the team?”

“Never said we were going on a date. It’s just drinks as teammates.” Louis makes sure to put an emphasis on ‘teammates’. "Also I don't even have time to go so it doesn't matter."

“Oh uh that’s good- I mean you know getting to know your teammates and all.” Harry wants to slap himself.

Louis hums in agreement, avoiding eye contact with him.

Thankfully the sound of the front door interrupts the awkward silence.

“Daddies we’re home!” Liam sings out loud.

All three of them stumble into the living room, and their eyes fall onto the two men on the couch.

“Would you mind keeping it down? It took an hour to put Mila back to sleep,” Harry shushes them.

“Here let me go take her to her room.” Louis gently takes Mila into his arms. “Hello my other babies.”

He kisses their other two kids on the forehead and even gives one to Liam as he passes by.

“Oi gross Louis I’m not one of your babies.” Liam tries to wipe the kiss off of him.

“Yeah but you sure act like one!” Louis shouts from the top of the stairs.

“Wanker,” Liam grumbles under his breath. “So how’s Mila doing?” Liam asks.

“She has pneumonia but it isn’t that serious. We just need to give her some antibiotics and she should get better soon,” Harry explains to him.

“I can stay home to help take care of her if you want?” Beckham offers right away.

“Yeah I can skip dance practice to help too.” Olivia quickly follows after her brother.

Harry looks at them fondly and shakes his head no. He truly had the best kids in the world. “Thank you so much for offering guys, but we are going to take off the whole week to watch your sister.”

“We?” Olivia asks, confused.

“Yeah me and your um…dad.”

Harry watches both his kid’s faces brighten up like they just received the greatest news.

“Does that mean dad’s gonna be staying here for the whole week?” Beckham asks excitedly.

“Um yeah.”

In the corner of his eye he can see the shock on Liam’s face.  

Beckham and Olivia don’t waste a moment and bolt out of the living room to try to find their father.

“No running up the stairs! And do not wake up Mila you two!” Harry scolds.

Harry sighs and runs his hands in his hair. As much as he loves his kids, they are the main reason for some of his worse headaches.

“So Louis’s staying here for a week?” Liam asks with a sense of disbelief.

“Yep.”

Liam narrows his eyes at him. “You think that’s a good idea?”

“Nope,” Harry admits. “But it’s only for a week so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“I guess, but a week is more than enough time for you two to kill each other,” Liam jokes.

“Oh very funny. I’m pretty sure we can be civil with one another for a week.”

Liam still looks unconvinced but doesn’t argue. “So how has it been Harry? I feel like we haven’t had a proper conversation in ages.”

That was sadly true. Harry was a little hesitant to chat with Liam and Niall just because they are two of Louis’s closest friends. He didn’t know where they stood after the whole divorce thing.

“I’ve been good. Been busy with work since the season started back up. It’s tough keeping up with you footballers.”

Liam chuckles. “Keeping up with the Footballers, yeah sounds about right.”

Harry shakes his head amused. “Oh hey weren’t you dating that one girl. Damn it what was her name?”

“Sophia? She and I broke up a while ago.” Liam shrugs his shoulders. “Speaking of dating, I heard that there’s something going on with you and Grimshaw.”

Liam doesn’t use a judgmental tone, but for some reason Harry feels the need to defend himself.

“Look Nick and I are just having fun. I’m a man with needs okay.”

Liam puts his hands up in surrender. “Hey I’m not judging you. I was just pointing it out.”

“Sorry." Harry sighs. “It’s just been weird. I don’t know how to act around you guys.”

“You act like how you normally act around us,” Liam said it like it was the most obvious answer. “Just because you divorced my best mate doesn’t mean I’m gonna hate you. You’re one of my closest friends too.”

Harry looks down at his hands. “I know I’m sorry. I’m being dumb.”

“Just a little." Liam smiles kindly at him. “Hey are you okay? You seem to be on edge. Was Louis being extra annoying today?”

“No, it’s just been a while since I hanged out with him alone and he seems…different?”

“Good or bad different?”

“Good different." Harry smiles to himself. “I saw the old Louis today. The same Louis I fell in love with.”

Harry missed this Louis. Spending the day with him, made him actually believe that they were still married. It was a feeling he didn’t think he missed.  

“Mhm I noticed that too. He just seems more-”

“Happier?” Harry finishes for him. “Yeah I know. Maybe we should have gotten a divorce sooner.”

After he says this Liam stays quiet and makes his way over to sit next to him.

“Actually I was gonna say he seems less irritable. Wait do you actually think he’s happier without you?”

Harry silently nods his head.

Liam considers his next words before speaking. “Are you happier?”

Harry looks at him with a frown. “I-I mean the kids aren’t-”

“I didn’t ask about the kids. I asked if you are happier.”

Harry let’s out a frustrated groan. “I don’t know Liam. Things are really complicated right now.”

“What’s so complicated about answering if you’re happy or not?”

"It just is," Harry answers lamely.

"It's a simple question H, are you happy without Louis?" Liam keeps pushing.

Harry flails his arms in the air. “No Liam, I am not happy. I miss my husband okay. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Harry takes a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

“I miss him, but there’s nothing I can do about it,” he says quieter. “I’m the one who made the decision to leave him and he clearly is doing better without me.”

Liam puts an arm around him. "You’re so wrong about everything. He misses you just as much.”

“I wish I can believe that Liam. I really do.”

They stay there for a moment in comfortable silence. Harry let’s Liam comfort him before he suggests that they watch a movie together, like old times.

Liam insists on watching the new Avengers movie and so that’s what they start watching.

Harry has never been a fan of Marvel movies so he was completely lost.

Liam had to commentate almost every part in the movie just so he could understand what the hell was going on.

As Liam is trying to explain the quantum realm to him for the fifth time, the sound of someone kicking a football, interrupts him. Harry silently thanks whoever it is.

Harry looks into the backyard and he sees Louis running around the pitch, dribbling a ball.

“You know there has always been something so captivating about him when he plays,” Harry said memorized, as his eyes follow Louis’s every movement.

The way Louis moves around the pitch is like he’s gliding through air. Harry watches Louis easily kick the ball into the net and smiles when he starts to celebrate by himself. Anyone watching could tell that Louis was born to be out there.

“You sure you’re just not staring at his arse?”

Harry slaps Liam on the arm. “Shut up.”

“Sorry,” Liam laughs. “I get what you mean though. I’m gonna miss seeing him do his thing on the pitch.”

Harry is so focused on Louis that he almost missed what Liam said.

“Wait why would you miss seeing him play?”

Liam’s eyes were focused on the screen, completely distracted by the movie. “He told me and Niall the other day that he was thinking about retirement.”

“He’s what?!” Harry immediately jumps to his feet.

Liam finally directs his attention onto the conversation and looks ashamed that he said that aloud.

“I was not supposed to tell you that.” Liam face palms. “Louis’s going to kill me.”

“Not before I kill him. Why the hell didn’t he tell me?!”

“When he told us, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he just wanted to be certain before he told anyone else.”

“Bullshit,” Harry spits out. “He needs to tell me things like that.”

Harry paces around the living room, trying to decide what he should do. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

Liam looks at him with concern. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I said I’m going to go talk to him,” Harry repeats. “He can’t just make big decisions like that without me.”

“Well I mean technically he can. You guys aren’t married anymore so-”

Liam stops talking when Harry gives him a death glare.

“Never mind don’t listen to me. I’m an idiot,” Liam surrenders.

Harry wrings his hands together. “Alright here I go. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck. Oh and go easy on him yeah? He’s having a hard time with this right now.” Liam tries to defend his best friend. “And maybe try not to mention that I told you, thanks mate.”

Harry promises him and makes his way outside. Louis was on the other side of the pitch with his back facing him. Harry strides his way over to him, mentally preparing himself on what he should say.  

As he nears closer, Louis backs up for a run-up. Louis is half-way to the ball when Harry decides to make his presence known. 

“How come you didn’t tell me you were thinking about retirement?”

This makes Louis lose focus and instead of kicking the ball, he kicks the grass which causes him to slip back and fall.

“Fucking hell,” Louis groans from his position on the ground.

Harry quickly runs to his side. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?’

Louis squints up at him, as if he was in a daze. “Are you an angel?”

Harry’s concern immediately melts away. Leave it to Louis to always be fooling around.

“Stop fucking around,” Harry said, unimpressed at his antics.

“Never mind looks like I'm in hell."  Louis gets up from the ground and looks down at his trousers. “Oi there’s grass stains on my trousers now.”

“Actually those are mine and you can easily get that out with- wait stop trying to distract me, and answer my question,” Harry brings it back. 

Louis feigns ignorance. “What question is that may I ask?”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest. “How come you didn’t tell me you were retiring?”

“And where did you get that piece of information?”

“From one of my sources.” Harry tries to be vague to save Liam’s ass.

“It was Liam wasn’t it?”

“I cannot deny or confirm that.”

Louis rolls his eyes and walks past Harry.

“Hey where are you going?” Harry yells after him.

“Gonna go strangle Liam,” Louis says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry walks faster to block his way. “How come you didn’t tell me?”

“Seriously Harry?” Louis stops and looks at him incredulously. “We were literally fighting a couple days ago. Why the hell would I tell you?”

Harry takes a step back, surprised at his words. “We’re friends Louis. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Friends,” Louis laughs. “I have no idea what we are, but we are definitely not friends.”

The look of hurt on Harry’s face turns into anger and annoyance. “Wow okay. If that’s how you feel then I’m just going to leave you alone. Deal with this shit by yourself.”

Harry turns to leave, not wanting to stay there any longer. Before he could get too far, Louis stops him.

“Harry wait I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a dick. I’m just really stressed about this whole retirement thing.”

Harry faces him. “Hey no need to explain it to me. Apparently we’re not friends so…”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just didn’t know where we stood after that fight we had.” Louis tries explaining to him. “Things have been weird between us, you have to admit that.”

Harry nods his head in understanding. For a long time it’s been weird but after that fight, things were just confusing.

“It has, but no matter what, you’re still one of my closest friends. Nothing changes that. Not even a divorce.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry." Louis hangs his head in shame. “The reason I didn’t tell you was because I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go through with it.”

“Still I wish you told me so I could help you,” Harry says gently. “So, why are you even thinking about retirement? You might be old Tomlinson, but I know you still got some moves on you.”

That effectively lightens up the mood and Louis starts to laugh.

“These new guys on the pitch are around 17 to 20. I’m almost 40,” Louis said it like he was ashamed to admit that he was close to 40.

“I cannot believe the great Louis Tomlinson is admitting that he is getting old,” Harry teases.

Sometimes Harry forgets that Louis is more than halfway to 40. The only thing that gives away his age is the small streaks of gray hair and the extra wrinkles around his eyes.

“I never said I was getting old,” Louis practically pouts. “I just want to give the youngsters a chance of winning, I can’t be beating their arse at my age. Might be too embarrassing for them you know.”

Harry can’t help but laugh. “It’s okay to admit that you’re getting old Lou. I mean we both are.”

“Yeah right,” Louis snorts. “I mean look at you. You still look like your 25, with your pretty brown hair and wrinkle free skin.”

“That is because I dye my hair and I have an anti-aging skin routine. Got to fake it till you make it darling.” Harry pretends to flip his hair dramatically.

Louis shakes his head amused. “I still remember when you tried to make me do facemasks with you. That was an absolute disaster.”

“The box never said you can’t put it on facial hair!”

“My face was sore and red for weeks. I was absolutely dramatized!” Louis laughs loudly.

Harry laughs with him. “Hey I have another one we can maybe try and I promise that this one will not tear out your beard hair.”

Louis hesitates but relents when he sees the hopeful look on Harry’s face.

“Sure but if one hair is pulled off, I’m never doing it again.”

Harry smiles happily at him. If one thing stayed the same it was that Louis could never resist Harry’s “puppy-dog” face.

Their moment is broken up when Liam comes out with Mila crying in his arms. “Lads Mila just woke up and she won’t stop crying.”

Harry takes Mila from Liam and feels her forehead.

“It feels like she might have a fever again. It’s almost time for her medicine. Louis you mind getting it for me?”

“I’m already on it,” Louis yells back, already halfway into the house.

“You need me to do anything?” Liam asks.

“No that’s okay, Louis and I can handle this.”

“Alright well I think I should get going then. I have an early morning tomorrow.”

Harry nods his head. “Okay thanks again for picking the kids up. It was a big help.”

"It was no problem. I love those kids like they’re my own.”

Harry smiles at him one last time, thinking that Liam was going to leave. When he notices that he hasn't moved, Harry shoots him a curious look.

"Is there something else Liam?"

"No, it's just nice."

"What's nice?"

"Seeing you, Louis and the kids in this house again. It feels like the good old times." Liam smiles, but there was a feeling of sadness behind it. "Anyway I hope Mila feels better. Call me if you need anything."

Harry silently watches him go and mulls over what Liam just said to him.

After about an hour of trying to put Mila back to sleep, Louis and Harry quietly sneak out of her room.

It took too many tries to get Mila to take her antibiotic. After Louis failed at trying to bribe their daughter with toys, Harry had the brilliant idea of mixing the medicine in some apple sauce.

Thankfully the apple sauce masked most of the nasty flavor of the medicine and Mila happily ate it.

“You’re an absolute genius Harry." Louis sighs happily. “Putting it in apple sauce, who would have thought?”

Harry smiles proudly. “I’m just smart like that you know.”

“You looked it up on google didn’t you?” Louis looks at him skeptically.

“I might have.” Harry smiles innocently, making Louis laugh.

Harry takes his time to admire the crinkles around his eyes. He doesn’t stare too long, in fear of getting caught.

Harry lets out a breath and leans against the hallway wall. “Can I ask you something? It’s about your retirement.”

Louis slowly nods his head, almost like he was afraid of what Harry was about to ask.

“I know you already told me why you’re retiring,” Harry starts. "But I just need to know that you’re not retiring because of anything I said in the past.”

Louis looks at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean Lou. It’s the main reason we got divorced. I would always ‘nag’ you about choosing footie over us. I just hope that didn’t influence you in your decision to retire.” Harry gnaws at his bottom lip.

Louis lets out a sigh and runs his hands through his hair. “I’ll be honest, that did have a small influence, but ultimately this is my decision Harry. I genuinely do want to retire. I’ve given all I have to the game, I’m ready to hang it up.” 

Harry looks at him with a sad smile. “I still can't believe you're really retiring. Are you sad at all?"

Louis shrugs his shoulders. "I mean I’m fine with it. It’s just the fact that I'm leaving the team and the fans behind that make it hard."

“You’ll be okay.” Harry puts a hand on his shoulder.

They stay there in silence just enjoying each others company, until Harry decides to speak up again.

“Hey," Harry said gently. "You know I always supported you and your career right? I know it didn’t seem like it when you became captain, but I truly did have your back all the way.”

No matter how many times Harry hated coming home to an empty bed, he never once lost support for his husband.

“I know you did. You were my number one fan.” Louis grins. “It’s just sometimes I think things would be different if I did something else you know? Maybe if I didn’t take that promotion then-”

“Louis don’t even dare finish that sentence,” Harry interrupts him. “We accepted that position together remember? I could have said no and I knew you wouldn’t have taken it, but I said yes because you were meant to be the captain of that team. I don’t want you to ever regret taking that position.”

Harry takes a deep breath before continuing. “Look of course I hated that you played footie more than hang out with us-”

“I didn’t-”

“Let me finish.” Harry gives him a stern look and Louis quickly shuts his mouth.

“The kids missed you but especially me. Almost every night I would lay in bed alone and cry myself to sleep, asking myself if I was good enough for you,” Harry’s voice cracks at his confession. “I was just so angry at myself for letting our marriage turn out the way it did.”

He never told Louis any of this and it felt good to finally tell someone. He suffered alone for too long.  

Harry slides down to the floor and hugs his legs close to his chest.

Louis sits right beside him with their knees touching.

“I-I had no idea. I’m so sorry that I made you feel like that. Jesus I didn’t even notice that my own husband was unhappy." Louis clenches his fists. “You deserved the best and I couldn’t even be there for you when you needed me.”

Harry looks up at him and sees tears in his eyes.

“Louis you did give me the best. Some of my happiest memories are with you." Harry takes Louis’s hand into his. “A part of me will always love you. Nothing will change that. This divorce was not out of hate, it was meant to give us room to grow and I don’t think we would be able to do that if we were constantly fighting.”

Harry's eyes were anything but dry by the time he was finished. He loved this man so much and it hurt to let him go. It hurts even more to admit it.

Louis squeezes his hand and leans his head on Harry’s shoulder. “A part of me will always love you too.” Louis let’s out a wet laugh. “Fuck you know this hurts so much.”

Harry snuggles him closer. “I know.”

They sat on that hardwood floor for a while, letting out everything that they were too scared to share.  

All of a sudden the two men are being embraced on both sides by their two oldest children.

“We don’t know what’s happening here, but we love you guys,” Beck said.

“Yeah and this ground is probably filthy but we could care less,” Olivia chimes in.

Harry was so thankful for his children. He doesn’t know what he would do without them.

“You are the best children we could have asked for,” Louis voices his thoughts.

They sit on the floor embracing each other for who knows how long. All that mattered was that they were healing and it felt good.

Harry thinks back to what Liam said to him and he can’t help but agree; it felt good to have his family whole again.

Chapter Text

It was strange having Louis back in the house, but the thing was it hasn't been that bad like Harry anticipated. It was actually comforting knowing that he wasn't the only adult in the house for once. As much as he loves his children it can be stressful having to handle them by himself, so having Louis back was a huge help.

Something else that surprised Harry was that he and Louis fell in the same routine like it was nothing. It was like they just picked up from where they left off.

Harry even realized that he was unconsciously doing things that he used to do when they were living together. Like making two cups of coffee rather than one, cooking Louis’s favorite meals, and he even started using Louis's favorite laundry detergent again.

Thankfully, so far no one seemed to have noticed this and Harry chose to be oblivious to it. It was only for a week anyway. Once Louis was gone, everything was going to go back to how it was.

If there was one complaint that Harry has about having Louis back under the same roof, it's the awkward encounters that keep happening. It was mostly little things like running into each other when the other one is shirtless or accidentally bumping into one another when in the kitchen.

Harry knew that there was going to be some awkwardness between them, but he didn't anticipate how often those kind of moments would keep happening. He doesn't know how much more he could take.

But thankfully today was a rare day where Harry had some time for himself. Olivia and Beckham were over at their friend's house and he sent Louis to the store with a long list of things to buy. Which was also another convenience of having Louis back.

Harry finishes putting Mila to sleep and decides to use this little amount of alone time to his advantage by cleaning the house. He wants to laugh at how lame that sounded. His 18 year old self would be shaking his head. 

Nonetheless, it's been a while since he took the time to thoroughly clean the house and his mother would be very disappointed if she saw the state of it.

Nick's always telling him to just hire someone to clean for him, but Harry has trust issues with letting strangers into the house after the nanny he hired last year. 

The only reason Harry hired a nanny was because since the divorce, he needed someone to watch the kids while he was away for work. 

The lady he hired seemed trusting enough when he interviewed her, but one night when he came home he noticed that some of his rings were missing. 

At first Harry convinced himself he just misplaced them until one day he noticed that the nanny was wearing one of his rings. He knew it was one of his rings because it was the same custom ring Louis gave him on their first wedding anniversary. 

After that incident Harry was very selective with who he let into his house. He never told Louis about it because he didn't want to seem like he was struggling without him. 

Thankfully now that Olivia and Beckham are a little more mature they're able to be left alone with Mila. 

As for the cleaning, well Harry could handle that part on his own. He actually enjoyed cleaning, like gardening, it was a way to clear his mind.

Harry puts his airpods in and starts with cleaning the living room. 

After about an hour, he was impressed at how much he had gotten done. he scrubbed the floors, dusted the furniture and did the laundry. The last thing that he had to do was restock the towels in the bathrooms. See, he didn't need a housekeeper. 

For some reason when he and Louis designed the house, they decided to put a bathroom in all the bedrooms and two extra ones on each floor. Apparently bathrooms were a vital necessity to them at the time. 

Harry grabs a basket full of towels and starts to make his way around the whole house. When he finally gets to the last bathroom, he lets out a breath of relief. Sometimes he forgot how massive their house was and his legs were starting to get sore.

Harry was too busy swinging his hips to Beyoncé that he doesn’t notice that the shower was running.  

When Harry opens the door he is met with a blurred silhouette of a naked Louis behind the fogged shower glass.

“Oh my god!” Harry clutches his chest.

Louis abruptly turns around at his outburst. “Jesus Harry you scared the shit out of me! I could have fell!”

Harry’s eyes fall to the ground, trying to avoid seeing anything that he’s not supposed to see.

“I thought you went to the store! When the hell did you get back?!” he asks still trying to calm his heart down.

“I came back a few minutes ago,” Louis explains. “I even tried saying hi to you, but you had your airpods in.”

Harry blushes, hoping that Louis didn’t come in when he was using the mop as a microphone.

“Why are you even in this bathroom?” Harry asks. “You have your own.”

“We both know that this shower has the best water pressure in the whole house. Why would I settle for anything less?” Louis asks cheekily.

Harry rolls his eyes even though Louis couldn’t see him. Instead of continuing this awkward conversation, he goes back to the task at hand which was restocking the towels.

Even though there is a shower wall and steam separating the two, it wasn’t enough to block out the thought that Louis was indeed naked on the other side.

It was starting to get a little too hot for Harry so he quickly folds the towels, not caring if they were neat or not. After he places the last towel down, he hurries to get the hell out of there.

But of course Louis wasn’t going to make it that easy for him. Before he can even make it out the room, the water shuts off and a hand pops out from the shower door, stopping him in his tracks.

“Oi before you leave, can you hand me a towel please?” Louis wiggles his fingers in front of him.

Harry internally groans. "Lazy piece of shit,” he grumbles under his breath.

“What was that Harry?”

“Nothing Lou,” he responds sweetly. “Of course I’ll grab you a towel.”

 Harry reluctantly turns around and grabs one of the newly washed towels.

“Here you are your majesty, is there anything-“

Harry stops breathing when he turns around to see the shower door wide open, revealing his very naked and wet ex-husband.

Louis notices his reaction and smirks. He knew exactly what he was doing, which made Harry even more annoyed.

Since Harry was stood there frozen, Louis just grabs the towel from his hands.

“Thanks H,” Louis said as he starts to pat himself dry. “Oh and you used my favorite detergent!”

He watches Louis stick his face into the towel and takes a deep inhale, acting like he wasn’t completely naked in front of him.

Harry on the other hand was still motionless. When he realizes that he still hasn’t said a word, he forces himself out of the state of shock he was in.

“Oh yeah um I bought it this morning,” Harry said awkwardly, trying to figure out a way to get himself out of this situation.

Harry purposefully looks everywhere else that isn’t wet naked skin.

“You still remember what I like huh?” Louis said like he was impressed that he remembered.  

Harry glances over to him and sees that he is still drying himself off.

Who takes this long to dry themselves?! Harry thinks to himself.

Unable to take the heat anymore Harry decides that he needs to leave before he does something he regrets.

“Yeah.” Harry clears his throat. “Anyways I should get going.”

He tries to leave like he wasn’t freaking out, but of course Louis notices how stiff he was and the slight blush across his cheeks.

“Hold on are you actually embarrassed?” Louis’s voice stops him. “Harry you’ve seen me naked more times than I’ve seen myself naked!”

“We’re not together anymore so it’s weird okay,” Harry huffs.

He had the right to feel embarrassed, it’s been a while since he has seen Louis completely naked and now since they’re divorced it makes things extra uncomfortable.

“Oh I see what’s going on here.” Louis has a smug grin on his face. “You’re scared that if you get one peek of my goods you’re gonna come running back to me.”

Harry can’t help but laugh. “You Mr. Tomlinson are funny. I see that you’re still humble as ever,” he says sarcastically.

The thing was Louis was entitled to be proud of his body. Harry has seen Louis naked plenty of times before and he has yet to come across anyone who looks as beautiful as him.

Harry props one hand on his hip. “Look I’m not some horny teenager that will jump a naked guy the moment he gets one.”

Louis chuckles and thankfully starts to wrap the towel around his waist. And Harry should really be leaving but he can’t help but watch Louis’s abs and biceps flex due to the movement.

Louis catches him staring again. “You know I charge 5 pounds each minute you stand there and stare at me.”

Harry diverts his eyes. “Why so expensive? There’s not much to look at anyway.”

Louis has a knowing smirk on his face. “Sure Haz, then tell me why you’re still here?”

Harry fumbles for words to say and Louis takes advantage of this by stepping out of the shower and getting into Harry’s space.

“You alright Haz? You seem a bit…flustered.” Louis was so close that Harry could feel the steam radiating off his body.

“I have no idea what you mean.” Harry composes himself and looks him straight in the eye.

Louis leans over and puts his mouth against Harry’s ear.

Harry shivers at the feeling and tries not to get too affected by it.

“Mhm well your little friend down there tells me all I need to know." Louis gestures to Harry’s obvious hard-on.

Harry didn’t even notice and tries to cover himself up, but Louis stops him by grabbing him by the waist. Louis suddenly presses his body closer and Harry has to stifle a moan by biting his lip.

“It’s good to know that I still have this effect on you,” Louis whisper’s in his ear. “Looks like some things never change huh?”

Instead of pushing him away, Harry stands his ground. If this is how Louis wants to play then it’s only fair that he plays along too.  

“And you’re still Tommo the tease." Harry has a sudden surge of confidence and backs away just enough to look at him. "But there is one thing that has changed."

Harry pauses for dramatic effect and bends down to whisper in Louis’s ear. “I have no problem resisting you,” he says in his deep syrupy tone, that he knows Louis was a sucker for.

Louis visibly shivers which Harry can’t help but revel in. He wasn’t the only one that could play this game.

“Looks like I still have the same effect on you as well.” Harry smiles victoriously and pat’s Louis on his cheek. “I’ll see you later Lou. I have to take care of my ‘little friend’.”

Harry gives him a cheeky wink and leaves Louis standing there with his own “little friend” to take care of.

----------

This was how it was throughout the whole week. They would tease each other until one of them would crack.

Thankfully there hasn’t been any more incidents like the one in the bathroom, but some of the things Louis were doing were just unfair.

Like on Wednesday morning, Harry planned on going out early to tend to his garden, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Louis out there playing football, shirtless.

The only thing he had on were these tiny shorts that did nothing to conceal anything. He was covered in sweat, making his muscles glisten in the sunlight. He was a living, breathing wet dream.

When Louis spotted Harry, he smirked and continued to practice his kicks, ignoring his drooling ex-husband.

Let’s just say Harry didn’t get to garden his tomatoes that morning.

The next day Harry decided to get him back by doing yoga in nothing but his tight leggings.

When Louis came down, Harry was in the middle of doing downward dog.

Harry heard a groan from behind and looked between his legs to see Louis standing there with a distressed look on his face.

“You alright there Lou?” Harry asks with a shit-eating grin.

Instead of answering him Louis let’s out a groan and trudged his way back upstairs.

“You’re actually obscene!” Louis shouts.

That just made Harry laugh even more.

It’s safe to say they were both sexually frustrated at this point but for some reason Harry didn't mind. He hates to admit it, but he was enjoying their little game. 

Besides the sexual frustrated part, Harry was actually excited to see what Louis would do next. It made him feel like a teenager again.

This definitely was not what Harry expected when Louis was staying for the week. He thought that they would be fighting non-stop like usual, but for the most part it was just light-hearted banter.

Like right now Louis was trying to seduce him by eating a banana, but he misjudged how much he could fit and started to choke. Harry couldn’t stop laughing, creating tears in his eyes.  

At the end they ultimately decided to have a little contest on who could fit the most banana in their mouths.

This is how Niall found them when he dropped off Beck from their football session.

“Don’t tell me I walked in on a deep throat competition with bananas,” Niall deadpans while surveying the two men in the kitchen with bananas stuffed down their throats.

Louis and Harry both look at each other with bananas halfway out of their mouths and couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

Pieces of banana were spat out, landing on the kitchen floor and counter.  

Niall just looks on with disgust. “You guys are terrible. What if it was one of your kids that walked in huh? How would you explain yourselves?”

Harry wipes the spit from his face with the back of his hand. “We would just say we love bananas so much.” He smiles cheekily.

“Yeah so much that you guys are choking on them.” Niall shakes his head, amused. “Oh Lou, Beck told me he wants to talk to you about buying him a new pair of football boots.”

“Another pair? That boy already has a closet full,” Louis said disapprovingly.

“Oh don’t act like you can’t afford it,” Niall said.

“I’m just saying I don’t want to spoil my kids anymore. I want them to know that they can’t have everything they want just because we have money.”

Harry just stands there and rolls his eyes fondly. He knows all too well that Louis can’t say no to the kids. He was too soft when it came to them.

“I’ll do it right now,” Louis says confidently. “I’ll tell Beckham that he can’t have another pair of footie boots,” he says like he's trying to convince himself.

Before he leaves Harry grabs him by the arm. “Wait Lou, you still have some banana on your face.”

Harry unconsciously wipes the piece of banana from the corner of Louis’s mouth with his thumb.

Louis let’s himself be cleaned and watches Harry carefully, as he wipes the fruit off of him.

Harry let’s his thumb linger on his bottom lip and stares right into Louis’s eyes. “There, now our son will take you seriously,” he whispers trying not to disturb the moment.

Louis smiles at him, making his eyes crinkle." Thanks Harry.”

This is the first time in a long time where Harry has the urge to kiss him. He glances down at his lips and looks back up to see Louis with a challenging look, as if he was daring him to do something. 

Before Harry could accept the dare, the moment is ruined when they hear someone gagging. They both turn to see Niall in a coughing fit with a banana in his hand.

“Jesus how the hell did you guys get this down so far?” Niall looks down at the banana with wide eyes.

Harry reluctantly let’s go of Louis and steps back so that there’s space in between them.

“Practice Niall. Practice." Louis chuckles. He looks back at Harry and smiles nervously. “I’ll go talk to Beck then.”

Harry nods his head and looks down at the kitchen counter, trying to hide his embarrassment.

As soon as Louis was gone, Niall looks at Harry with amusement.

“So you and Louis huh?” He wiggles his eyebrows

“What about me and Louis?” Harry plays dumb.

“I’m not blind Harry. I can feel the sexual tension, it’s like I’m suffocating in it. I mean I caught you guys giving each other imaginary blow jobs with bananas!”

Harry shakes his head and blushes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh okay just ignore the fact that you guys want to sleep together,” Niall says as he takes a bite out of his banana that he just was choking on. “Also I think you’re gonna need more bananas.”

----------

“You guys don’t really have to go you know. It’s probably going to be a boring game anyway.”

Harry looks over to Louis and sees a rare look of nervousness on his face. “You’re playing Manchester United, it’s always a good game with them.” Harry quirks his eyebrow. “Unless you don’t want us to go?” he asks.

Louis immediately shakes his head. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just I don’t want Mila to go if she’s not feeling good.”

Harry knew he was lying because Mila had already finished her medicine and was thankfully feeling much better now.

“Look if you don’t want us to come to your game then just say it.” Harry had no idea why Louis was acting so weird. He usually was encouraging the kids to go to his games. 

“It’s not like that H. It’s just...” Louis hesitates and looks at Harry shyly, "...you haven’t been to one of my games since the divorce.”

Harry stares at him surprised. He didn’t even realize that it’s been a year since he went to one of Louis’s game. Of course he would watch it from the TV but that isn’t the same. Physically being there was a whole other experience.

“Oh um well if me being there puts pressure on you, I’ll stay home and Gemma can take the kids to the game,” Harry suggests. He was kind of looking forward to going but he rather not go if he’s just going to be a distraction. 

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’m just being weird.” Louis laughs to himself. “I actually want you to be there. It’ll be nice to see you in those stands again, cheering me on.”

Harry’s heart starts to beat a little faster without his permission." Are you sure? I don’t want to distract you.”

“You won’t.” Louis shoots him a reassuring smile. “Alright well I’m gonna start heading up to the pitch. I’ll see you guys there.”

“Oh, before you leave.” Harry stops him. “I wanted to ask if I still get a discount on beer.”

Louis laughs, creating crinkles by his eyes. “I think you do, but if not I’ll make sure to let them know to give you one.”

“Appreciate it. Good luck out there Lou, we’ll be cheering you on.”

Louis comes in for a hug because that’s a thing they do now apparently. Harry let’s himself be embraced by his warmth for a second before letting go.

“Oh and if you don’t want to distract me, you mind not wearing that top? Thanks!” Louis shoots him a wink before rushing out the house.

Harry looks down at what he was wearing and frowns. He was just wearing his Arsenal football top. He didn’t know why Louis would be distracted by him…oh.

Harry turns to look at his back in the wall mirror and sees the words, “PROPERTY OF 28” sewn in. He totally forgot that.

He quickly slips out of the shirt and just puts on a basic black tee. As much as Harry liked that Arsenal top, he should think about just storing it away. It wasn’t like he was going to wear it anymore.

It was an hour before kick-off when they finally get there. Harry wanted to get there early because he wanted enough time to find their seats and wish Louis good luck.

“I’m glad you’re here papa. It’s been a while since you’ve came with us to a game,” Beckham said as they’re walking their way over to where Louis was.

“Yeah I know. It’s been a long time since I went to a game just to have fun and not for work.”

Sometimes Harry forgot how much he enjoys the game when he’s working. He’s usually so focused on the technical side of football that he forgets to just appreciate the game as it is. Hopefully today he can get back to just being a football fan instead of a journalist.  

“Dad!” Olivia exclaims as Louis comes into view.

He was in his full football gear and was right outside the locker room doors, waiting for them. Louis spreads his arms wide for his kids to come hug him.

“You guys excited?” Louis asks them.

“Yeah! Is uncle Niall and uncle Liam here too?” Beckham asks, looking over his shoulder to try to get a glimpse of them.

“Actually they’re still getting ready so you’ll see them after the game, but hey I got a surprise for you guys.” Louis pauses for a dramatic effect, making the kids impatient. “I reserved a club box for you guys to watch the game in.”

“Sweet! I love watching the games from there." Beckham was bouncing on his feet from excitement.

“Thank you Louis, you didn’t have to do that,” Harry tells him.

“It’s all good. I just want you guys to have a good time. I’ll have security escort you guys up there.”

They say their last goodbyes and good lucks before departing.

As they’re walking to the box Olivia grabs hold onto his hand. "Dad seems to be in a really good mood today.”

“Well you know how your father gets when it’s game day.”

“I know but he just seems brighter today,” Olivia said. “And I have a feeling it has something to do with you being here.”

Harry lifts his eyebrows. “Um I don’t know about that Liv.”

“Maybe you don’t, but I do.”

Harry glances over to his daughter who has a small smile on her face. Interesting.

As they take their seat the players were already warming up on the pitch. Harry leans over the railing and quickly finds Louis who was currently doing squats.

Harry quickly looks away, not wanting to get too affected by the sight of him. Louis could be very overwhelming even when he didn’t try to be.

As he is still trying to get himself comfortable he hears his kids yelling at something. When he looks over he sees themselves on the big screen of the stadium.

Cheers are heard from the crowd and a small chant of “Larry” started to echo through the stadium. Thankfully the chant didn’t go on for too long.

Harry almost forgot about that. When Louis and Harry got together, Arsenal fans thought it was clever to combine their names, and at the end they came up with "Larry". 

It was cute at the time, but now that they're divorced Harry can't help but cringe everytime he hears the name.

Curious stares start to wonder up toward where they were, probably wondering why Louis Tomlinson’s ex-husband was here.

When Harry looks back onto the field he sees Liam and Niall staring up at him curiously. He gives them a small wave which they reciprocate before approaching Louis with serious expressions on their faces. He wonders what they could be talking about.

The stadium was starting to fill up and the players were starting to go to their designated sidelines, signaling that the game was about to start.

Harry sits back in his seat and opens a beer for himself. If he was going to watch a football game then he was going to do it right.

The game was already proving to be a good one for Arsenal. They already scored a goal on their first possession and now Niall just made an amazing stop at the net.

Liam currently has the ball and he passes it over to Louis who easily accepts it and starts making a beeline toward the goal.

“Dad looks to be in really good shape,” Beckham comments.

And Harry can’t help but agree. It’s crazy to think that this man was going to retire already. He still has so much in him.

Louis goes in to score but it ricochets off the crossbar, making the whole crowd groan. Fortunately the ball lands in front of Liam who circles back to try again.

But instead of watching the ball Harry’s eyes drift over to Louis who was face to face with another player from Man-U. 

Harry didn't think much of it, but then he notices the clear anger on Louis's face. He watches the two start to shout at one another, and then before Harry realizes what's happening, Louis punches the guy right on the jaw.

The guy falls down in pain, bringing the whole stadium’s attention onto them. A red card is pulled out for Louis who was still seething with rage. Harry watches as Liam holds Louis back from causing any more damage.

“Oh no dad,” Olivia said as she watches her dad get practically dragged off the field.

Harry clutches Mila against his chest, trying to stop her from seeing anymore of this. 

“Why would dad do that?” Beckham asks. 

Harry would like to know that exact question too. “I don’t know. That guy probably said something to upset him.”

“We should go down there,” Beckham suggests.

“No, we’ll see your dad after the game. Let him cool down for a moment.”

Beckham looks reluctant but decides not to argue.

As much as Harry wanted to run down there and comfort Louis, he knew he wouldn’t be much help right now. Whatever happened, Louis must have had some reason to just punch that guy.

-----(Louis POV)-----

Louis still cannot believe Harry woke up that morning and decided to put on that top. Did he really do that just to fuck around with him because it worked! He remembers when Harry first wore that to one of his games and he could hardly concentrate on anything else.

As he is warming up on the pitch he hears a boom of cheering and yelling from the crowd. He looks up to see what the fuss is all about and finds his ex-husband and children on the big screen.

The camera pans over to just Harry, who had a slight blush on his face, and the crowd cheers even louder and he swears he hears a low cheer of “Larry” run through the crowd.

“We didn’t know Harry was coming.”

Louis looks over to see Niall and Liam walking toward him.

“Uh yeah he wanted to come and see us play. It’s been a while." Louis shrugs as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Yeah it’s been since your divorce Louis,” Liam points out. “Are you sure you won’t get distracted?”

Louis shakes his head. “Of course not. My head is all in the game right now, I promise.”

Niall smiles and puts an arm around him. “You know I think it’s awesome that he’s here. You guys seem to be getting on really well huh?”

Louis blushes uncontrollably at Niall’s suggestive tone. "We’re just trying to go back to being friends. Nothing more.”

"Oh Liam, did I tell you about the banana situation the other day?" Niall asks, making Louis groan.

Liam furrows his eyebrows, clearly confused. "What banana situation?"

Before Niall could respond the whistle goes off signaling that the game was starting soon.

“I'll tell you later," Niall promises. "Alright boys let’s kick some Man-U arse!” Niall exclaims, making the rest of the team laugh at his enthusiasm.

They were doing really well so far. They’ve already scored on their first possession and Niall made an incredible stop. Now Louis has the ball and was already setting up for another goal.

But instead the ball hits the crossbar, making him and the crowd groan. Louis feels a feeling of frustration wash over him, after making it this far and not scoring. Luckily Liam tracks down the ball and tries to find an opening.

Louis is so focused on the ball that he doesn’t even notice one of Man-U players running up to him.

“Hey Tommo! Was that your boy I saw on the big screen earlier?"

Louis ignores him, he's used to players talking shit to him all the time. 

"He's quite pretty you know," the guy continues, undeterred. "I wouldn't mind seeing him under me every night."

Louis tenses up. “Excuse me?”

The guy smirks, knowing exactly what he was doing.  “I mean you guys are divorced right? So, you wouldn’t mind me scoring there would you?”

"I'm warning you mate, you better shut up," Louis threatens, the game long forgotten. 

"What? Was seeing him slut around with Grimshaw enough for you?"

Before Louis could even think about what he was doing, he throws his arm back and lands a punch on the guy’s jaw.

He watches as he falls and Louis suddenly registers what he just did once he feels his fist throbbing.

“Don’t you fucking talk about him like that you fucking cunt!” Louis yells out and he suddenly feels a pair of arms holding him back.

All members from each team, spill onto the pitch, contributing to the chaos. 

“Louis calm down!” Liam shouts in his ear.

“Talk all the shit you want about me, but do not bring my husband into this!” Louis doesn’t even realize what he’s saying, he just knows he’s pissed off.

He lets Liam carry him away from the mess he made.

“Louis just fucking calm down!” Liam puts his hands on top of his shoulders and tries to relieve some of the tension.

Louis takes a deep breath and breaks out of Liam’s hold to kick at a nearby trash bin. The contents spill out onto the grass.

“What the hell was that?” Liam asks.

Louis runs his hands through his hair. “I lost it I know.”

“Yeah you did. What the fuck Louis? Your kids are here today and now we don’t have our captain.”

“I’m sorry,” Louis groans. “That guy said some fucked up things about Harry, and I couldn’t just let him get away with that shit.”

Liam sighs and Louis could feel the disappointment radiating off of him.

“Are we even going to talk about what you said?"

Louis immediately knows what he’s talking about. “No, it was just the heat of the moment kind of thing.”

“Louis you called Harry your-”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” Louis shouts. “Just get back to the game Liam. Make sure my fuck-up doesn’t affect our team.”

Liam looks at him with concern before doing what he says and running back to the pitch.

He fucked up he knows that, he just hopes his team doesn’t pay for it.

-----------

Harry receives a text from Louis saying that he was going to go back to the house so don’t wait up for him. He looks down at his phone and simply sends a thumbs up.

Instead of focusing on what just happened, Harry decided to just focus on the game and cheer on for their team.

“Dad won’t answer any of my calls,” Beckham said sadly.

Harry pulls him in and rubs his back reassuringly. “He’s probably really upset right now. We’ll see him tomorrow morning though don’t worry.”

“Oh we should make his favorite breakfast to cheer him up!” Olivia suggests.

Harry smiles at her. “That’s a brilliant idea, I’m sure he would love that.”

By the time the game ended it was already dark out and kids were totally exhausted. Arsenal did end up winning which was good after what happened with Louis.

After he puts Mila down in her bed, he looks over at the door of the room Louis was in and sees the light was still on in.

Harry walks up and softly knocks.

He hears rustling on the other side and suddenly the door opens.

Louis looks at him with surprise. “Oh Harry, you guys are back home, good.”

“Yeah we just got here.”

Harry stands there awkwardly waiting for Louis to say something.

“Oh uh you want to come in?” he asks finally.

Harry simply nods and sits himself down on the bed. “I just wanted to check up on you.”

“I’m fine.” Louis sighs. “Just tired is all.”

“So…what happened out on the pitch?”

Louis just stares at him, contemplating if he should tell him. Eventually he sits next to Harry and lets out a breath.

“That prick started saying shit about you.”

“About me?” Harry says surprised. “What he say?”

“Just that you were pretty and basically said he wanted to sleep with you.”

Harry frowns. “Those sound like compliments to me.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Trust me with the tone he was using he was basically degrading you."

“So you punched him because he was being disrespectful towards me?”

“Uh yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?”

Harry shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s just I didn’t think you still would defend me like that.”

“Of course I would. I stick up for all my friends. No one says shit like that to me and gets away with it.”

“Well uh thanks." Harry grins up at him. “For defending my honor and all that.”

“You’re very welcome my king." Louis bows his head dramatically.

Harry can’t help but laugh at his antics. “I just wish you did it without violence though. The kids saw you.”

“I know.” Louis sighs. “Are they alright? I didn’t scare them or anything right?’

“No, they were just very worried.” Harry leans in to whisper the next part. “Oh and I’m not supposed to tell you this, but they’re making your favorite breakfast tomorrow morning, so make sure to sleep a couple more hours before heading downstairs.”

Louis chuckles fondly. “I’ll make sure to turn off my alarm then.”

Harry stays quiet, finally noticing Louis's bruised hand. "Oh, your hand," he points out.

"I'm fine," Louis said right away. "Just a little bruised is all."

"Are you sure?" Harry gently takes Louis's hand in his, pressing his thumb over the bruised knuckles.

Louis winces a little, but doesn't pull back. "Yeah."

Harry was too caught up with the feeling of Louis's hand in his, that he doesn't even realize that his lips were centimeters away from Louis's knuckles.

Without even thinking, Harry presses his lips against the bruised skin. Harry keeps his eyes open, watching Louis's reaction. 

Louis just stares at him, with his bottom lip between his teeth. "What are you doing H?" Louis asks with a strained voice. 

"Kissing it better," Harry answers, simply. "You always said my kisses were magic."

"Yeah I did."

When Harry looks up again, he finds Louis staring at him still, but this time with hungry eyes, and Harry decides that it's time for him to leave.

Harry abruptly stands up, dropping Louis's hand in the process. "Okay well it's getting late, I should leave."

Harry doesn't wait for a response and makes his way to the door.

Before Harry even makes it out the room, something makes him pause.

Harry didn't feel right ending the night like that, so he turns back around to face Louis once more. “I uh, just wanted to say…I’m glad you’re here Louis.”

“Yeah? I’m not annoying you yet?” Louis jokes.

“No not yet." Harry smiles down at the ground. “Anyway have a good night.”

Louis watches him leave until the door shuts closed. “Goodnight.”  

----------

It was the last day of the week meaning that it was also the last night Louis was going to stay with them.

Since it was going to be the last night they decided that it would be a good time to have a night-in with the whole family. Despite some protests, Harry convinced them that they should put on face masks and then watch a movie afterwards.

It was a weird time for all of them. Harry didn’t want Louis to leave, but he knew it was best for both of them if he did. The kids obviously were very disappointed he was leaving. They didn’t say it, but Harry could see it in their expressions that they weren’t happy.

“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Beckham grumbles, as Harry puts a glob of the clay mask on his face. “Face masks are for girls.”

“Hey now that isn’t true,” Louis responds, while already having his own face mask applied. “There is nothing on the label that says that this is exclusively for women.”

“Your dad is right." Harry nods in agreement. “Anyway there is nothing wrong for men to have good skin.”

Harry finishes up putting the mask on his son’s face and smiles fondly when he sees the outcome. "Aw look how cute you are.”

Beckham immediately goes to the mirror and his eyes widen. “I look ridiculous.”

Olivia comes up behind him and snickers. "I don’t know, I think you look much better like this.”

“Shut up. You don’t look any better either." Beckham glares at his sister.

Harry comes in between them to stop their little sibling squabble. “Stop it you two.”

“Yeah stop your arguing,” Louis backs him up. “All that frowning is going to crack the mask.”

“Who cares about the dumb mask? I still don’t know why we’re doing this." Beckham rolls his eyes.

Harry decides not to scold his son for his attitude. He understood why he was being like this and he didn’t blame him.

“Because it’s been a while since we had a family night and it’s your dad’s last night here,” Harry tries explaining to his son.

“Yeah and whose fault is that,” Beckham mutters under his breath, but everyone in the room clearly heard him.

“Beckham!” Louis scolds.  

After Harry recovers from the shock of his son’s snide remark, he tries to calm Louis down. “Louis it’s alright, he-”

“No it’s not alright. Beckham apologize to your papa right now,” Louis insists.

“For what? For wanting to live with both my dads again?” Beckham asks vehemently. “I just don’t understand why you two can’t just make up already.”

“Beck it’s more complicated than that."

“Oh stop saying that!” Beckham yells out, frustrated. “We haven’t seen you two this happy in so long! Can’t you guys see that you’re better together!?”

Harry watches Louis pinch the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some tension. This has gotten out of hand and Harry had no idea what to do. Beckham was usually so reserved when it came to the divorce so this was new territory for all of them.

“You said we,” Louis comments and directs his gaze to their oldest daughter. “Olivia do you feel the same way as Beck?”

Olivia looks nervously between her parents before slowly nodding her head yes. “I mean he’s not wrong. You and papa have been getting on so well since you've been here. Also at the game, you were so excited that papa was there.”

Louis and Harry both look at each other but quickly look away once their eyes meet.

Both men knew that their kids had a point, but they would never admit that.

It’s true that they have gotten along really well since Louis has been there, but that doesn’t mean anything. They still have their problems and this one week could not fix all of that.

Harry takes a deep breath and kneels to his kid’s height. “Kids, me and your dad did get on really well this week and it’s been really fun.” Harry pauses to give a reassuring smile to Louis. "But there is so much more to fix between us. I know you won’t understand, but this is how it’s supposed to be.”

Both his kids stay silent for a moment before Beckham turns away to the sink. He turns on the faucet and starts to wash off the face mask.

“Beckham it hasn’t been 10 minutes yet,” Harry tries but Beckham continues to rub off the mask from his face.

“I don’t care.” Beckham dries his face off. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

“But we were going to watch-” Harry doesn’t get to finish because Beckham was already out of the room.

“I think I’m gonna head up too,” Olivia says quietly. “Come on Mila.”

Olivia takes Mila who was completely oblivious to what just happened and leads her upstairs.

Harry watches his kids leave and a feeling of failure washes over him. Trying to explain to your kids that their parents weren’t going to get back together was not the easiest thing.

“H, come on get up." Louis grabs him by the arm.

Harry didn’t even notice that he was still kneeling on the ground. He lets Louis help him up and leads him to the sofa.

“I screwed up, didn’t I?” Harry says eventually.

Louis immediately shakes his head. “No, we screwed up. We should have known that this was going to happen.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Harry said sadly. “I want them to be happy, but I know the only way to do that is if we get back together.”

Which was never going to happen. As much as they value their kid’s happiness, they can’t just pretend that they’re okay and act like they're back to being a happy married couple. It doesn't work like that.

Harry suddenly gets up from the sofa and makes his way over to the big window overlooking the backyard. Something about nature always seemed to calm him down. That’s why gardening was so important to Harry.

As he is overlooking his newly planted tulips, his eyes stumble over to their guest house. Sometimes Harry forgot they even had one.

The only time they used it was when their extended family would come and visit. The shrubbery around the house was over grown and the windows were covered in dust and cob webs.

The house itself was actually decent. It had one bedroom, one bath and a functional kitchen. It was like a mini version of the main house.

All of a sudden an idea popped in Harry’s head and it could be the best idea he’s ever came up with or the absolute worse.

Louis comes up behind him and tentatively touches his shoulder. “Harry look I know things are bad but we have to-“

Harry abruptly turns around. “I have an idea!”

“Uh okay." Louis looks at him with wide eyes, surprised at his sudden mood change. “Care to share?”

“Look this might sound totally insane, but this could be the compromise that makes everyone happy,” Harry says with excitement. “How about you move back in?”

Silence. That’s what’s heard after he says this. Louis just stares at him before bursting out in laughter.

“That’s too funny." Louis wipes a non-existent tear from his eye. When he looks up and sees Harry with a straight face, he stops laughing.

“I’m not joking Lou.” Harry grabs Louis and makes him look out the window.

Louis squints his eyes. "What am I trying to look at?”

“The guest house!” Harry points at the house in the distance.

It take a minute for it to finally click in Louis’s mind. “Wait you want me to move into the guest house?”

“Yes! This way the kids don’t have to keep moving from place to place and they get to see both of us every day. Also you get to have your own space. Come on it’s not a bad idea…is it?”

Harry starts to get worried when Louis doesn’t say anything for a while. The idea made sense in his head, but now as he says it out loud he realizes how big of a leap this is.

They have been living on the opposite sides of London for a little over a year, and now suddenly Harry is suggesting that Louis should basically move back in.

“I mean it’s not a bad idea, but Harry this is a big decision. This is gonna impact all of us. I need time to think about this and I think you do too.”

“Louis I just want our kids to be happy. I think this could really do that for them,” Harry tries to plead with him.

Louis looks down at the ground. “And how about you? Will this make you happy?”

Harry nods his head. “If our kids are happy then I’m happy.”

There’s a bit of a pause where Harry just stares at Louis intently, trying to read what’s going on in his mind. He used to be so good at that, but now it feels like he doesn’t know him at all.

“Well if we’re going to do this I have one condition,” Louis says suddenly.

Harry looks at him cautiously, scared of what he’s going to say. “What is it?”

“I want you to make me breakfast every morning-”

Harry snorts. “That’s easy I’ve been doing that for years.”

“-and deliver it to me wearing only an apron,” Louis finishes with a wicked grin on his face.

“No fucking way,” Harry says unamused.

“I’m only joking!” Louis snickers. “Only about the apron though, I do expect breakfast each morning.”

“That can I do. Deal,” Harry complies.

Louis let’s out a breath. “This is really happening then. I guess I should go tell the kids huh?”

“I think you should wait till the morning. I don’t want to wake them up.”

“Yeah you’re right,” Louis agrees. “It’ll be a good surprise when they see me sitting at the dining table in the morning.”

Harry grins at the thought of his kids coming down the stairs with shock written on their faces.

Now, he obviously wasn’t blind to the fact that this could potentially be a bad idea. With Louis basically living with him again, Harry has the right to be worried that they would revert back to their old ways where they were constantly fighting. 

But Harry was ready to risk it if it meant that his kids were happy. He can’t stand seeing the disappointment and sadness on their faces anymore. It was about time they had something to be excited for.

“Oh Harry before we do this,” Louis interrupts his thoughts. “We have to make it clear to them that just because I’m moving back in, doesn’t mean that we’re getting back together. I don’t want to give them false hope again.”

“Of course,” Harry easily agrees. "But I don’t think they’ll even be concerned about that once you tell them you're moving back in."

“I cannot believe we’re doing this." Louis chuckles to himself. “People are going to think we’re insane you know?”

“Who cares.” Harry shrugs his shoulders. “The only people I’m concerned about is our kids.”

Louis can’t help but agree.

The next morning, when the kids went downstairs you would have thought it was Christmas morning with how bright their faces got when they saw Louis.

----------

There was a reason why Harry never took off from work. He was only away for just a week, but his desk was piled up with a month worth of paperwork. The football world was constantly changing and it was not waiting up for anyone.

Even though he mainly worked from home, Harry was too busy with taking care of Mila and worrying about Louis being under the same roof as him again, to do anything else. 

As Harry is shifting through some files, his door creaks open. He looks up and sees Gemma and Lottie enter his home office.

“Hello ladies,” Harry greets them as they sit themselves down in front of him. “I didn’t know you guys were coming by.”

Lottie crosses her legs and looks at him with a blank expression. “We just decided to stop by. We actually heard something that we wanted to talk to you about.”

“Alright what is it?” he asks suspiciously.

It was never good news if both of them came to talk to him without a warning. This almost felt like an ambush and he was the unsuspecting target.

“Olivia told us something very interesting the other day. Something about my brother moving into the guest house? Is that right?” Lottie quirks her eyebrows.

Harry sighs, he knew they were going to find out eventually but he didn’t think it would be this soon. “That would be correct.”

Gemma and Lottie give each other a look before turning back to him with serious expressions.

“Okay we’re gonna ask you this one time and one time only. Are you and Louis trying to fix things?” Gemma asks.

Luckily Harry was prepared for that question. He knew his sister and ex-sister in-law well enough to know that they would ask that question.  

“No, the only reason that we are doing this is for the sake of the kids. They weren’t happy with living with us separately, so this is our compromise.”

“So you’re doing this for the kids? This has nothing to do with you and Louis?” Lottie asks for clarification.

Harry nods his head. "Exactly. This move has nothing to do with me and Louis’s relationship.”

“Have you actually thought this through Harry? You really think this is a good idea?” Gemma asks with concern written on her face.

“Look I know how crazy this seems, but Louis and I already talked about this. We know what we’re getting into and we both agreed that it’s worth the risk.”

Harry looks them both in the eye trying to convey to them how serious he was. He appreciates their concern, but he was old enough to take care of himself.

“But won’t it be awkward when you two start bringing guys home or something?” Lottie asks suddenly.

Harry scrunches up his face. "I don’t know what you’re trying to get at.”

“Wow you are thick aren’t you." Gemma rolls her eyes. “What she’s trying to say is, wouldn’t it be weird when Louis starts bringing blokes back home to fuck?’

Harry widens his eyes at her bluntness. “Woah where is this coming from?”

“Oh come on, it’s bound to happen. You’re gonna see Louis with some other guy and it’s gonna make you jealous and then you’re gonna storm in there and beat the shit out of him.”

“You guys watch too much reality TV." Harry laughs at how dramatic the two girls were being.

“Don’t you think it’ll get weird?”

Harry can’t help but groan. “No and now can you two please get out of my office? I have a lot of work to do.”

Thankfully they both get up, with no complaints and start to head out the door.

Before Gemma leaves, she pauses by the doorway. “Look Harry, we didn’t come here to grill you or anything. We came here to make sure you guys don’t get hurt. We’ve already seen you guys break each other’s hearts, we don’t want to see it happen again.”

The door shuts, leaving Harry alone to his thoughts.

Harry goes over the conversation they just had and starts to think about what they said.

He never thought about it before but he and Louis never talked about bringing guys back home.

It shouldn’t bother him because they’re divorced, but imagining Louis and some other guy going at it just outside the house made him want to throw up.    

Harry buries his face into his hands and lets out a breath. He can get through this, there’s no need to freak out. Everything will work out in the end...hopefully.

----------

That night Harry finds himself outside the guest house. He was standing outside the door debating if he should even be there.

He doesn’t even know why he’s there. After the talk with Lottie and Gemma, he just felt like he needed to clarify things with Louis.

With a deep breath, Harry knocks on the door and waits.

It only takes a few minutes before Louis answers.

“Oh hey Harry, you need something?”

Harry fidgets with his hands. "Uh not really. I just wanted to see if you needed help unpacking?” he lies, not wanting to admit why he really was there.

“I do actually." Louis smiles. “Come in, I just made some hot chocolate, you want some?”

Harry politely declines his offer and walks in.

There were boxes everywhere and it looked like Louis hadn’t unpacked anything yet. 

“Looks like you really need help with unpacking,” Harry comments as his eyes roam the empty shelves and walls.  

“Oh yeah I’ve been really distracted.” Louis picks up his laptop that was on the counter. “I’ve been trying to write my retirement speech. I just can’t seem to find the right words.”

Harry looks at the screen and sees that he has only a few sentences down. “Are you writing this for the team or for the public?”

“The team already knows,” Louis admits. “I told them a few days ago.”

“Oh yeah? How’d they react?”

“They were shocked I guess." Louis shrugs his shoulders. "But they slowly understood where I was coming from when I explained it to them.”

“They’re a good group of guys,” Harry comments off-handedly. “So this speech is going to be for the public then?”

“Yeah that’s why I’m taking my time with this. This is the speech that’s going to end my legacy after all.”

Harry nods his head in understanding. “Well if you need some help, I’m right here.”

“No I’m okay. This should be from my words only but if you want to help, can you start unpacking those boxes in the living room?”

Harry looks over and sees the multiple of unpacked boxes on the floor. “I can do that. Focus on writing that speech of yours.”

This wasn’t the reason why Harry came over but he’s glad that he could help. Harry knows how much Louis has been stressing about retirement, even though he doesn’t show it.  

Football was a big part of Louis so it made sense that he would be upset that it was ending.

As Harry watches Louis type away on his laptop, he can’t help but wonder what kind of speech is he going for. Is he going for a funny, sarcastic speech or is it going to be full of emotion and make the whole room cry? Maybe a mix of both?

Whatever it was Harry knew that it was going to be amazing.

“Oh Harry what did Gemma and Lottie want? I saw them walking out of your office earlier.” Louis breaks him out of his thoughts.

“Um they came by because they heard that you were moving back in. Gave me a whole lecture about how this could be a potentially bad idea." Harry chuckles.

“Why’d they say that?”

“Because they said it might get awkward once we start bringing other blokes back." Harry laughs like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

He expects Louis to laugh too but when he looks up he sees that Louis had stopped typing and had a frown on his face.

“Lou? That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Louis snaps out it and plasters on a fake smile. “Nah, it shouldn’t be a problem. I mean it’s not like we’re going to be living in the same house anyway.”

Harry agrees. “Yeah, our sisters were just being dramatic as always.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

An hour later Harry had fully unpacked all the boxes in the living room and even organized everything into their proper places.

Louis stretches his arms above his head and lets out a yawn. “Alright that’s enough of that for tonight. I’ll finish it later.”

“Ooo let me read it!” Harry makes grabby hands toward the laptop.

Before he could get his hands on it, Louis moves it from his grasp. "Nope, you’re just going to have to wait like the rest of the world.”

Harry can’t help but pout. “No fair.”

“Life isn’t fair darling." Louis pats him on the head.

Harry smacks his hand away. “So when are you going to tell the kids?” Harry asks.

Louis’s face falls. “Shit, I totally forgot about that.”

Harry scoffs. “You forgot that you have to tell you own kids? You better tell them soon.”

Louis groans. “What do you think they’re gonna say?”

“They’ll say they love you and they support you no matter what,” Harry answers him, honestly.

“You don’t think they’ll be mad at me or anything?”

Harry immediately shakes his head. “Of course not. Why would they be mad at you?”

Louis shrugs. “I just don’t want to disappoint them. I mean we both know the kids are my biggest fans.”

“Yeah they are but they’re not fans of football player Louis Tomlinson,” Harry says in a gentle tone. “They’re fans of their father. No matter what you do, they’ll always support you Lou.”

Louis gives him a small smile and surprisingly pulls him into a hug. “Thank you so much Harry.”

Harry freezes initially before reciprocating the hug. “Of course.”

Louis pulls away just enough for their eyes meet. They don’t say a thing but no words are necessary for what happens next.

Harry doesn’t know who moves in first but their lips meet for a brief second. As soon as their lips touched, it felt like a fire was reignited inside of him.

That light feather-like touch was enough for them to snap back to their senses.

They immediately pull apart and look at each other with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry-”

“Harry I-”

They both interrupt each other at the same time. They look away, blushing, embarrassed at what just happened.

“Um I’ll head out now then,” Harry speaks up. “Good night Louis.”

“Yeah uh good night Harry.” Louis awkwardly shuffles to the side to let Harry leave.

They say their goodbyes and Harry leaves out the house as fast as he could.

Once he was outside, he lets out a breath into the night sky. He touches his lips where Louis’s lips just were, and he can’t help but yearn for more.

It was only half a second but Harry felt those butterflies in his stomach that he always got when he kissed Louis.

Harry felt ridiculous. How could that small kiss have this much of an effect on him still?

All he knew was that kiss, was just a one time thing. He wasn’t going to let that happen again. 

Chapter Text

Finding the person you want to spend the rest of your life with seems like it only happens in movies.

After experiencing heartbreak after heartbreak, Harry was beginning to believe that was true. It wasn’t until he met Louis Tomlinson; The brash, loud, arrogant football player from Arsenal. Harry wouldn’t have imagined ever dating a guy like that, but now here they are engaged.

It was the night before their wedding and they did nothing but prepare for their special day. Stress levels were at an all-time high because of all the preparations and since both grooms were perfectionists everything had to be in order before they could relax.  

Their family was definitely not making anything easier when they were putting in last minute requests. Just a few hours ago Harry found out that his mom changed the seating arrangements, which meant that he had to double-check to make sure no one was sitting next to someone they didn’t like.

Because it was so last minute, Harry had to do this before he went to bed. He was biting the end of his pen, trying to keep himself awake, while going through the seating chart.

Louis comes out from the bathroom and jumps into bed next to him.

“Hey Lou can we place your Aunt Lindsey next to your Uncle Ben?” Harry asks.

Louis immediately shakes his head no. “Absolutely not. Remember I told you that they have a really messy history.”

Harry frowns. “Was she the one who kicked him out of the car and left him stranded on the road?”

“Nah that was my cousin June and her ex-husband Tim. Which by the way they cannot sit nowhere near one another.” Louis leans over his shoulder to look at the seating chart.

“Okay.” Harry sighs in frustration and looks back down at his chart. “This shit is like a fucking puzzle.”

Louis huffs a laugh into his ear and places a gentle kiss on his shoulder. “Hey why don’t you put that away? It’s getting late.”

“I can’t. I have to make sure the seating arrangements are good or else there might be some unexpected drama at our wedding.” 

Louis doesn’t seem to care since he takes the chart from Harry’s hands and replaces himself into his lap.

“Louis,” Harry whines. He tries reaching for the chart from behind Louis’s back but he pulls it away. “I have to get that done!”

“No you don’t.” Louis starts to place kisses along his neck, trying to distract him. “You shouldn’t be this stressed on the night before our wedding darling.”

As much as Harry would love to continue on with this, he needed to get this done.

Harry pouts and slides his hands onto Louis’s waist. “Please baby, I really need to finish this.”

Louis pulls back and sees the irresistible puppy dog eyes. “Fine go ahead.” He sighs and reluctantly gets up from Harry’s lap.

Harry watches Louis grumpily slouch back in his spot and turns his back towards him.

He always did turn into a drama queen when he didn’t get his way. Harry rolls his eyes fondly and wraps an arm around his fiancé.

Harry looks down and sees that Louis’s eyes were shut closed, pretending that he was sleeping.

This is the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with. This handsome, stubborn, silly man was going to be all his. Harry felt like the luckiest guy on earth. 

Harry looks down at his engagement ring that Louis gave to him and smiles. It still takes his breath away even now. The first time Harry laid his eyes on it was on the football pitch right after Arsenal won the Champions League.

As soon as Harry went onto the field to congratulate his boyfriend, Louis was already waiting for him on one knee.

It was just a simple gold band with emeralds surrounding it but it was gorgeous. When Harry asked why Louis picked emeralds, he replied saying that it reminded him of his eyes. Harry still makes fun of him for being such a sap to this day.

Harry takes the initiative and rolls the fake sleeping Louis onto his back and crawls on top of him.

He watches as the corners of Louis’s mouth lift up slightly, even though his eyes were still closed.

“I know you’re not sleeping.” Harry cuddles against his bare chest.  

Louis peeks out of one eye. “Well I was until you climbed on top of me.”

“Oh well I’m sorry I disturbed you’re slumber King Louis,” Harry said with a fake posh accent.

“You should be. I have a very important event tomorrow and I would like it if I had a good night sleep.”

“Really now?” Harry smirks. “Am I invited to this important event?”

Louis looks at him with amusement and bites his bottom lip, trying to stop himself from laughing. “Hm I don’t know it depends.”

“Depends on what?” Harry yawns, finally feeling the exhaustion from today.

“You can only go if you put that damn seating chart away and go to sleep," Louis says cheekily.

Harry rolls his eyes. "I'm just trying to make sure everything is in order Lou. I don't want to fuck up our special day."

"I know love but you need your rest." Louis moves a strand of hair from Harry's face. "And you're not going to fuck it up. As long as we get to say our I do's and eat cake then I count that as a successful wedding."

"Yeah? So you don't care if, let's say, your aunt and uncle start fighting during Liam's best man speech?"

Louis shrugs his shoulders. "I wouldn't even care if Niall starting stripping down during our first dance. All I care about is making sure I leave that night with you as my husband." Louis grabs his hand and kisses it. "So, are you up for it?"  

"What, Niall stripping during our first dance?" Harry teases, earning him a smack to the chest.

"No you little shit. I meant, are you ready to marry me?" 

Harry smiles down at him and pushes himself up to kiss Louis on the nose. “I already said yes didn’t I?” He waves his ring in front of his face. “But the real question is, are you up for it?”

“Yes I am.” Louis suddenly gets all serious and gently cups Harry’s cheek into his hand. “I can’t wait to spend my whole life with you. Even if you’re a dork sometimes.”

Harry giggles and lays his head back down on Louis’s chest. He focuses on his steady heartbeat, using the sound to lull him to sleep.

“I can’t wait to make you my husband either,” Harry whispers. “It’s you and me against the world right?”

Louis smiles against his curls and simple nods his head. “You and me against world and whatever dares to come between us.”

Harry’s eyes start to droop and he lets sleep consume him. “I love you Louis.”

“I love you too Harry.”

They fall asleep happily knowing that the next day will be the greatest day of their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was stressed. His mother was coming over and she and Louis haven’t been on the best of terms.

After the divorce, Anne resented Louis for breaking her son’s heart, which was understandable, but that was before he and Louis were getting along again.  

When Gemma told their mom that Louis moved into the guest house, Anne immediately called Harry saying she was gonna stay a few days with them until after Mila’s birthday.

As much as Harry was stressed out, Louis was even worse. He was extremely nervous to be around Anne again and Harry didn’t blame him. His mother was usually extremely nice, but if you mess with her kids then she turns into a whole different person.

“Are you sure she said she wants me at dinner? Because I’m totally okay with just eating left overs in the guest house,” Louis said, clearly not keen on being at dinner with Anne.

“Louis it’ll be okay. Just don’t initiate any conversations with her and make sure not to make eye contact,” he said jokingly, but Louis nods to his words with a serious expression. “I was joking,” Harry deadpans. 

Louis groans and bangs his forehead against the counter. “I can’t do this Harry. She’s gonna murder me.”

“No she is not,” Harry says as he finishes up cutting up the chicken. 

He was cooking Anne’s favorite chicken dish and popped open the good wine to hopefully ease some of the upcoming tension.

“Oh by the way, you maybe want to change out of that top, she hates that color,” Harry said. 

Louis looks down at his orange Adidas jumper and frowns. “Okay, I'll go change into that black V-neck I have, she told me she liked it on me during New Years.” Louis rushes to leave but stops when he hears Harry laughing. 

“I’m just fucking with you Lou.” Harry was really enjoying messing with him, it’s making him forget that his mother was coming. 

“Harry stop that! I’m shitting myself as it is!” Louis groans. 

Harry laughs. "I'm sorry, I'll stop."

Harry takes out some carrots and starts cutting them up. As he's doing this, Louis suddenly becomes quiet, making Harry glance back up at him.

"You alright Lou?" Harry asks.

Louis stares down at the counter. "Are we going to talk about it?" 

"Talk about what?"

"The kiss."

The knife in Harry's hand freezes before it hits the chopping board. "Um, do you want to talk about it?"

There's a long pause before Louis's answer. "Not really."

"Then there we go." Harry resumes cutting up his carrots, like nothing happened.

If Louis didn't want to talk about it, then they weren't going to talk about it.

The sound of the knife cutting through the carrots was deafening, and Harry could feel his face heating up. 

Thankfully the awkward silence is broken up by Olivia's arrival.

“Smells good in here papa,” Olivia comments as she makes her way into the kitchen. 

"Thanks Liv." Harry smiles up at her.

"Oh Olivia, what do you think of my jumper?" Louis asks her.

"Um it looks fine to me, why?" 

“No reason. Thanks love" Louis places a kiss on her head. “Now I'm going to go have a lie down before Anne gets here. I feel like my heart is about to beat out of my chest," Louis said before leaving the kitchen

“Is he okay?” Olivia quirks one of her eyebrows. 

“He’s just nervous about your grandma coming. He’ll be fine.” Harry smiles but on the inside he was freaking out.

The doorbell rings and Harry nearly drops the bowl of mashed potatoes. He takes a deep breath and makes his way to the door. When he gets there, the door is already open and all three of his kids were crowding around his mother. 

“Oh my darlings! You all are getting so big!” Anne picks up Mila and gives her two big grandma kisses on her cheeks. As her eyes move to see all the kids she finally notices Harry, making her smile dim just a little. 

“Hi there sweetheart.” Anne walks up to her son and pulls him into a hug. “You look well.”

Harry hugs her tightly and welcomes in her familiar smell. “Thanks mum. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too!” She backs up and gives him a kind smile. “I cannot wait to spend some time with my grand babies.”

As Harry is helping his mum with her bags, Louis walks in and his eyes widen when he sees Anne standing there.

Anne’s smile disappears all together and stares at Louis with judgement already in her eyes. 

“Uh h-hi Anne." Louis smiles as her shakily. 

Anne doesn't offer a smile back. "Hello Louis."

She just got here and Harry could already feel the tension filling up the house. 

“Um how was your drive up?” Louis voice was dripping with nervousness and Harry knew his mother could hear it. 

“It was fine,” she simply says and abruptly turns her back towards him. “Alright kids how about you help me bring my bags to my room and I can show you the presents I brought for you.”

The kids excitedly grab her bags and rush upstairs. Anne starts to follow them but stops halfway to look back at Louis.

"Oh and Louis you mind changing that jumper of yours? The color is really giving me a headache."

Louis clenches his jaw and nods his head. "Of course Anne."

Anne doesn't even say thank you and walks up the rest of the stairs, leaving Louis and Harry by themselves. 

“You said you were joking about my jumper!” Louis smacks him on the arm.

“I was!” Harry rubs at where Louis hit him. "I had no idea she didn't like it!"

Louis runs his hands through his hair. “I already fucked this up. I have to go change!" Louis exclaims and exits the house in a hurry. 

Harry already feels a head ache coming on and rubs his temples. “This is going to the longest dinner of my life,” he groans.

They haven’t even gotten through serving the food yet and Anne was already set on making this whole situation uncomfortable.  

“How have you been Louis?” Anne asks, already sipping some of her wine.

Louis looks shocked that Anne is actually talking to him but quickly pulls himself together. “I’ve been good. Thank you for asking. How about yourself?”

Harry keeps himself from snorting because Louis sounded so formal, which was so not like him.

Anne ignores the question. “Hmm that’s interesting, I would have thought you would still be miserable after the divorce.”

Harry almost chokes on his food. “Mum! Please can you not do this right now? We just started eating.”

“I was joking! Come on I’m just trying to ease the tension in here.”

Harry stabs his fork into his chicken and wishes that the clock would move a little faster.

Through the rest of the dinner, Anne thankfully got distracted with the kids and didn’t really interact with Louis anymore.

Harry looks over at Louis who was quietly eating his food, with his head down, clearly trying not to bring any attention to himself.

Harry felt awful that his mother was treating him like this. To try to comfort him, Harry nudges Louis’s foot with his own, making him look up.

He pulls a funny face, making Louis look at him with amusement and pulls his own funny face. They both giggle at one another, unaware that Anne was observing their little interaction.    

“So Louis,” Anne interrupts, making them both snap their heads up to her. “How’s football season going?”

Louis swallows his food and clears his throat. “It’s going well. We still have a lot more games to play though.”

“You still playing like shit?” Anne asks without hesitation.

“Mum!” Harry scolds her for being rude and for cursing in front of the children.

"It's okay Harry," Louis intervenes before it got too intense. “Actually I’m doing fairly well. I’m top scorer on the team right now as a matter of fact,” he said smugly.

“Oh really?” Anne raises one eyebrow. “Because I can see by those grey streaks in your hair that you’re getting a little older now. Those joints of yours not rusting up yet?”

Harry watches Louis tighten his hands around his silverware, probably trying to contain himself.

“I might not move as fast as I did when I was younger but I can still play,” Louis states.

“Right, well I just think you should retire soon. We don’t want you to pull your back from just doing squats now.” Anne smirks against her glass and all Harry wanted was for this conversation to end.

All of a sudden Louis pushes back his chair, making the legs screech against the floor. When he was fully standing up, he suddenly looked more nervous than before.

“It’s funny you mention that,” Louis speaks up and rubs his hands together. “I’ve wanted to tell you guys something for a while now.”

Louis hesitates for a second making Anne a little impatient. “Well spit it out then.”

Harry looks at his mum with a tired look. “Mum can you just please let him talk,” he pleads with her.

Anne just swats her hand at him but she thankfully stays quiet. Harry turns his attention back to Louis and encourages him to continue.

Louis nods at him gratefully, and proceeds with whatever he’s about to say. “I uh well…I’m going to be retiring after this season.”

Harry watches the shock form onto everyone’s face, including Anne’s.

Louis looks relieved that he finally told the kids. Harry knows how nervous Louis was to tell them so he was proud that he finally did, especially since he decided to do this while Anne was here.

Beckham is the first one to break the silence. "Are you serious? Why? You’ve been playing so good dad.”

“Yeah, but not as good as I was when I was younger. I’m getting old, which I thank Anne for reminding me.” He tilts his head toward her and she just turns her head, looking down at the floor.

“When did you decide this?” Olivia asks.

Louis nervously plays with his hands. “I've been thinking about it for a few months now, but I only decided to actually go through with it a few weeks ago."

“And you didn’t tell us?” Beckham looks almost hurt as his dad explains this to him.

“I had to be sure. I couldn’t tell you if I was having doubts.”

“You could have at least mentioned it to us dad. I cannot believe you’ve kept this to yourself this whole time.” Olivia uses the same argument Harry did when he found out.

“Hey now,” Harry cuts in. “He wasn’t alone. He had me.”

“He told you?” Anne finally speaks, after she’s been quietly observing this whole thing.

“Yeah. Louis told me.” Harry decides not to mention that he found out through Liam. "And don’t get mad at your dad. He just wanted to be sure before he told you guys.”

Louis sends him a grateful smile, which prompts Harry to wink at him.

Beckham and Olivia calm and look down at the table.

“Sorry dad, we just didn’t see this coming,” Olivia apologizes.

“Yeah we’re sorry,” Beckham said. "But do we still get discounts to the games?”

This eases the tension in the room, making everyone laugh. 

Louis smiles at him, making his eyes crinkle. “Well I better still get discounts. I am a legend there as you know,” he said, making everyone roll their eyes at his smugness. “Now how about we clean up here and we can play some games before bed.”

The kids easily agree and start to help clean up the table. Harry stands up and notices his mum was still drinking her wine, lost in her thoughts. 

“You alright there mum?” he asks her.

“Of course, this is just really good wine." She grins against the rim of her glass.

Harry can see straight through her smile. There was something going on in her head and he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

“Uno!” Harry yells out for the fifth time that night, making everyone groan.

“What the hell?! You have to be cheating!” Louis points an accusing finger at him.

Harry just laughs and waves his card in his face. “Nope this is pure luck baby!”

“Luck my arse. You’ve been peeking at everyone cards haven’t you?”

“Of course not! I would never,” Harry said affronted. 

Louis narrows his eyes at him. “I’m watching you Styles.”

Harry bites his lip to suppress a smile. His eyes roam over to his mum who was watching the interaction with curiosity. Harry clears his throat and urges whoever’s next to place down a card.

The game goes on and it’s Louis’s turn. He places a wild card and stares Harry down, as if he was trying to read his mind.

“Just pick a damn color already,” Harry said impatiently.

“Give me a minute!” Louis gives him one last hard look and then finally settles on a color. “Green.”

A smirk slowly makes its way on Harry’s face and he lays down his last and only card.

“I won!” Harry throws his hands up in victory.

“You must be kidding me.” Louis looks down at the card with shock.

“Ha, I won 5 times in a row! Suck it Lou!” Harry was too busy gloating that he didn’t notice that Louis had collected all the cards in his hands and started to throw them at him. “Oi stop being a sore loser!” Harry laughs as he dodges the incoming Uno cards.

“You stop being a sore winner!” Louis crawls over and dumps a whole pile of cards on top of Harry’s head.

Harry quickly looks around for something to protect himself with and his eyes fall on Mila who was just playing with Clifford. He scoops Mila up and uses her as a shield from Louis.

“Oh we have to stop using poor Mila as a human shield! That’s just playing dirty.” Louis drops the rest of the cards.

Harry stands up, still holding Mila in front of him in case Louis starts to attack him with cards again. “You’re the one who did it first!”

“Yeah well I was protecting myself from an angry Harry. You’re protecting yourself from a couple of flimsy Uno cards.”

Harry giggles and cuddles Mila closer to him. “Whose side are you on Mila? Mine or your dad’s?”

Mila looks between her two fathers before focusing on Harry. “Papa!”

Louis’s mouth falls open dramatically and he lets out faux a gasp. “What?! I thought I was your favorite parent! You traitor!”

Louis starts to run toward them, making Harry let out a squeak and take off running the other direction. They eventually find themselves in a cat and mouse type chase, where Louis was the cat, Harry is the mouse and Mila was just there for the ride.

“Come back here! Give me my daughter back, you clearly brainwashed her!” Louis shouts after him.

“I did no such thing! She just likes me more!” Harry looks back for just a second to stick his tongue out at Louis.

This unfortunately slows him down and Louis suddenly was right behind him. Harry let’s out a gasp when he feel Louis’s arm wrap around his waist. 

Louis traps him against his body, making Harry still completely.

“I got you!” Louis says against his ear. “Now hand her over!”

“No never!” Harry yells and hurriedly places Mila to the ground. “Run Mila! Run! Leave me behind!”

Mila takes off running on her two tiny legs and she ends up running to Anne.

Louis spins him around in his arms so that Harry was facing him. “Well it looks like I got you instead.”

Harry smirks down at him, he always loved being the taller one. “You disappointed?”

“Eh I mean I guess you can do.” Louis shrugs his shoulders, making Harry smack him on the arm playfully. 

“You’re an idiot,” Harry laughs.

Harry watches Louis’s eyes glance down at his lips for just a fraction of a second before they hear someone clear their throat rather loudly.

They both look to the side and see their kids and Anne looking at them with amused expression on their faces. Harry quickly gets out from Louis’s grasp and abruptly falls to the floor to clean up the Uno cards.

“Hey Louis why don’t you put the kids to bed while I help Harry here clean up,” Anne suggests.

Louis nods his head and ushers his kids upstairs leaving Anne and Harry alone. 

As Harry is picking up the last remaining cards, he feels his mum kneel down next to him. He looks up and sees her watching him with an unreadable expression. 

“Did you want something?” Harry asks as he stuffs the cards into the box. 

“When did you and Louis start getting close again?” Anne asks without hesitation. 

“Um just recently. We decided it was better to be friends than be nothing at all.”

Anne takes her time, considering what to say next. “Is that why you asked him to move back in?”

“No,” Harry said right away. “We thought it was in the best interest of the kids.”

Harry doesn’t hear Anne say anything for a while until he feels a hand on his shoulder. “Honey can you look at me please?”

Harry looks at his mom, and she cradles his face with her hands. She carefully examines him for a minute before she breaks out in a smile.

“You look happy sweetheart.”

Harry looks at her with confusion. “Well yeah I am. What should I not be happy about?”

“I just mean that I haven’t seen this expression on you since you told me you were in love.”

Harry finally realizes what she’s getting at and nope. This is not happening.

Harry abruptly stands up and tries to get away from his mom. This was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. 

“Harry just listen to me.” Anne quickly follows after her son.

“No mum just let it go,” Harry tries to plead with her. “Why are you so interested anyway? I thought you hated Louis?”

“I don’t hate him. I hated that he made you so miserable but now I see that’s not the case anymore.” Anne makes her way in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. “Darling, you have to have noticed that you’re-”

“Of course I noticed!” Harry interrupts her before she could even finish. He plops himself down on one of the dining chairs and takes a deep breath.

“How long?” Anne carefully asks, as if she was scared she was going to scare him away. 

“I don’t know, for a while now. I’ve been trying to ignore it.”

“But why?” 

Harry can’t help but laugh. “There are so many reasons why mum. I mean I’m the one who divorced him in the first place, and most importantly he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“First off just because you divorced him doesn’t mean you can’t fall back in love with him.” Anne rubs his shoulder comfortingly. "And I’m not saying this because I’m your mum, but I can see clear as day that, that man is still in love with you too.”

Harry wants to believe her but he just can’t. It’s hard to believe Louis would be in love with him after everything that he put him through. 

“It doesn’t matter if he does or not. Louis is doing so much better without me. I don’t want to ruin this.”

“Harry you have to stop blaming all this on yourself. It’s not fair to you.”

“I just can’t let this family go through any more pain mum.” Harry sighs. “We’ve been through too much.”

“But imagine the love and joy you guys will have if you and Louis-”

“Mum please stop! I’m done talking about this.” Harry stands up, suddenly really tired. “Have a goodnight.”

With that, Harry makes his way to his bedroom and shuts his door. He thought he would be able to hide his affection for Louis just until his mom was gone, but it looks like his mom can still read him like a book.

----------

His mom and the kids were being suspicious. Whenever Harry walked in the same room as them, they would talk in hushed voices. Harry knew something was going on and he did not have a good feeling about it.

Instead of asking them directly, Harry chose to ignore it for now. His mom had finally stopped pestering him and she wasn't being rude to Louis anymore, so he counts that as a win. 

"Oh papa there you are," Beckham said as he spots him in his office.

Harry doesn't bother to look up from his laptop. He was currently writing a new report and he needed it to be done by the afternoon. "What do you need love?"

"Well grandma is gonna take us to the movies. We just wanted to let you know."

"Alright that's fine. Just make sure to bring Mila's sweater it might get cold in the cinema."

"Okay, oh and grandma made reservations at that restaurant you like."

Harry stops typing and furrows his eyebrows. "The Ivy?"

"Yeah that's the one," Beckham confirms.

"That's kind of fancy isn't it?"

"Well you know grandma, she has expensive taste." Beckham chuckles nervously. "Anyway we'll all meet up there around 7 okay? Love you papa!"

Harry watches as his son quickly leaves his office and he can't help but feel a sense of dread in his stomach.

What the hell was his mother planning?

Harry slipped on his pea coat and tousled his hair until it looked up to his standards. The Ivy was one of those restaurants where they had to dress up, so he had on some black pants that flared at the bottom and a cream colored blouse with ruffles as the collar. 

“Explain to me again why your mother picked The Ivy?” Louis’s voice echoes through the empty house.

Harry turns around and his heart stops for just a second when he sees Louis. He was dressed in simple black dress pants and a navy button up with the top two buttons unbuttoned, showing off his chest tattoo. 

“I have no idea.” Harry clears his throat. “I guess she wanted to treat us after the shit she pulled at dinner the other night.”

“I hate dressing up.” Louis looks down at his clothes and then back up to him. “You look really good though. Is that top Gucci?”

“Like you even have to ask.” Harry smirks. "But thank you. You clean up nice as well.”

“Thanks, so you want to drive? My legs are sore from practice.”

“Of course your majesty. I can’t have the king driving himself when his legs are hurting him,” Harry teases. 

Louis slaps his arm and pushes him out the door. “Shut up, let’s go you idiot.”

They didn’t say much on the drive there but it was a comforting silence. Harry missed moments like those where they didn’t say nothing at all. Sometimes it was better to just be quiet.

When they arrived to the restaurant Harry sent a quick text to his mum saying that they’re there but that was a half an hour ago and they still haven’t responded. 

“Damn it where are they?” Harry asks as he tries to call his mum again.

“Olivia and Beckham aren’t answering their phones either. Do you think something happened?” Louis asks worriedly.

“I don’t know. Come on let’s go and-”

“Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Styles?” One of the waitresses call them over. “We have your table ready for you.”

“Oh we're waiting on the rest of our family to get here,” Harry said.

The waitress frowns and looks back down at her computer screen. “I’m sorry sir but the reservation says it’s only for two.”

“What?” Harry and Louis said in unison.

“The reservation made by Anne, she set it for two,” the waitress slowly repeats for them. 

And yep Harry was going to kill his mother. He looks over to Louis who looked just as shocked as he did.

“So if you two would follow me.” The waitress doesn’t notice their distress and starts to walk away, so Harry and Louis have no choice to follow her.

She sits them at a romantic candle lit table and leaves them with their menus. Harry looks up at Louis who was just staring at the white table cloth in front of him.

“I knew she was planning something.” Harry groans into his hands. “I swear I had no idea about this.”

As Harry is busy cursing his mother in his head, he hears Louis start to laugh. He looks up and sure enough Louis is sitting there just laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Harry asks, already chuckling because Louis’s laugh was so infectious.

“It’s just one minute I think your mum is trying to hang me from my balls for breaking your heart, and now she’s making secret plots with our kids to set us up?” Louis delicately sweeps his fringe out of his face. “I’m just so confused right now,” he laughs.

This makes Harry laugh too because this whole thing was ridiculous. “I’m sorry for all of this Louis. We can leave if you want.”

“Nah we waited half an hour here and I’m starving. Plus I even got dressed up for this shit so let’s just enjoy this night shall we?” Louis shoots him one his charming smiles.

“I guess you’re right.” Harry pops open the wine that was sitting there and pours him and Louis a drink. “To meddling mothers and deceptive children!” Harry raises his glasses.

“Cheers!” Louis exclaims with amusement in his eyes.

Harry smiles around his glass and takes a big gulp. He doesn’t know if he can get through the night sober so he’s taking in as much wine as he can to get a little tipsy.

They stay in silence until the waitress comes back to take their orders. Harry orders what he always orders which is their lasagna, and Louis chooses the steak.

When the waitress leaves, Louis decides to break the silence.

“Remember the first time you brought me here,” Louis asks.

Harry giggles to himself, how could he forget? 

Harry remembers waiting for Louis outside the parking lot and suddenly sees this Audi sports car whip into a parking spot and out walks Louis in an Arsenal sweatshirt and jeans.

“Yeah you came here wearing jeans.” Harry smiles at the memory.

“Because someone didn’t tell that this was one of those posh restaurants!” Louis shouts, making other people at the surrounding tables, glare at them.

“I told you the address! You should have googled it!”

“I did, but you knew me back then. I didn’t have a clue that you had to dress up for five star restaurants. You were always the posh one in the relationship.”

Harry scoffs. “Says the one who owned like 5 sports cars.”

“Eh that’s totally different.” Louis smiles to himself, like he knows he’s full of shit.

“Okay Lou.” Harry rolls his eyes fondly. "But you have to admit it was one of our best dates.”

Louis nods in agreement. “It was. It was the same date where I gave you that.”

He points at Harry’s pearl necklace and Harry instinctively clutches it in his hands.

“Seems like you still love wearing it.” Louis sips his wine.

Harry stares at the necklace in his hand and blushes. He didn't even realize he had put it on. “I’m just wearing it because it pairs nice with this top.”

Louis puts the down the glass and puts on a tight smile. “So, anything interesting happening at work?” he asks effectively changing the subject.

When the food finally showed up, their conversations were flowing with ease. They kept bouncing off one another and were intent on listening to what the other one had to say. Even when they weren’t talking they would share these looks that meant more than words.

The flame on the candle was slowly dimming and people all around them were starting to leave. The two men didn’t even seem to notice since they were too caught up in their own little world. 

“You divorced me because I was a slob! Admit it!” Louis jokes loudly. 

Harry let’s out a cackle and tries covering the noise behind his mouth. “I think we both know that’s not the reason I divorced you.”

Louis smiles at him and leans closer against the table. “Then tell me the reason.”

Harry looks up at him and sees that Louis was still smiling but there was a serious tone behind his question.

“We just weren’t clicking like we used to Lou." Harry shrugs. "We were always fighting. It wasn’t a healthy relationship anymore.”

Louis stays quiet for a minute before responding. “You know that night we had our big fight?”

Flashbacks of yelling, crying and a beer bottle being thrown against the wall flashes in Harry’s head, creating goosebumps all over him.

Harry bites his bottom lip and nods his head. 

“I regret so much from that night,” Louis continues. “It’s the one moment in my life where I truly want to go back and change what I did.”

“If you could, what would you have done differently?” Harry asks curiously.

“Everything,” Louis said with self-deprecation. “I regret yelling at you and not talking it out like you wanted just because I was a selfish stubborn prick. I regret saying those two words that I never even meant. I regret leaving you that night.”

Harry looks away because his eyes were becoming glassy. He clears his throat to disguise any emotion that could be heard.

“You know as soon as you left, Olivia and Beckham came downstairs. I was in hysterics but they calmed me down. They didn’t even ask questions, they just helped me to bed and cleaned up the mess I made.” Harry smiles sadly at the memory. 

“I’m so sorry Harry.” Louis looks down at the table. “I should have stayed.”

Harry nudges his foot with his own, making Louis look up at him. “Hey it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past. What matters now is here.”

Louis and Harry share a smile and stare at one another. The candles were creating these shadows across their faces, highlighting their features which made them even more beautiful.

Harry was about to tell Louis as such, but they were interrupted by the waitress who had the check in her hand. “I do apologize gentlemen but we will be closing shortly.”

She sets the bill in the middle of the table and both men finally look up from one another and look around. There was absolutely no one left except for the waiters who were cleaning up.

“Oh I uh didn’t realize it was so late already.” Harry clears his throat and goes to grab the bill but Louis beats him to it.

“I got this one H,” Louis said as he’s already signaling the waitress to take his card.

“I hate when you do that.” Harry pouts.

“Hm well maybe you should have quicker hands darling.” Louis chuckles.

Harry takes one last gulp of his wine and stands up. “Oh I think we both know I have fast enough hands Lou,” he says innocently and starts to walk toward the exit, leaving Louis behind.

Harry smiles to himself when he hears Louis’s footsteps struggling to keep up with him.

“I’m driving!” Louis announces as speeds past him to the now empty parking lot. 

“No I’m driving.” Harry dangles the keys in front of him. “I had less to drink.” They both knew that was a lie.

“Well you’re a light-weight so I think I’m in the best condition to drive actually,” Louis said as he blocks the car door.

Harry sighs and crosses his arms in front of him. “Let’s do a sobriety test then.”

Louis easily agrees and picks one of the parking lines to walk on. “Alright I’ll go first.”

Harry watches Louis walk the line with no difficulty and even shows off at the end by hopping the line with one foot.

“Okay we get it you can handle your alcohol.” Harry rolls his eyes.

“That I can! Your turn light-weight,” Louis says with amusement.

Harry set’s himself up at the end of the line and starts to slowly walk across it. He was doing well until he accidentally tripped over a rock.

He prepares himself to fall on the gravel but then he feels two strong arms wrap around him. He looks up to see a pair of blue eyes staring down at him.

“I win.” Louis grins victoriously.

“I tripped,” Harry says still leaning on Louis for support.

“No excuses Styles." Louis finally pulls him up but still keeps his hands on his waist.

Harry leans into his touch and brings his arms around his neck. “I’m not drunk," he tells him.

“Neither am I." Louis’s eyes glance down to Harry’s lips before quickly looking back into his eyes.

Harry licks his lips. “So how do we settle this?”

Louis all of a sudden grips his hands tighter on his waist, making Harry bite his lip to suppress a moan.

“Well since I have the keys, I think I’ll be driving.”

Harry looks at him with confusion before yanking himself from Louis’s grip and feeling his pockets for his keys.

While he’s doing this he hears the car beep and the car door slam. When Harry looks up he sees Louis already situated in the driver’s seat with his seat belt on.

“Come on Styles, what are you waiting around for?” he says smugly.

Harry simply sticks his middle finger at him, earning him a cackle from Louis. Harry can't even be mad at him.

It was probably for the best that Harry wasn't driving because he doesn't think he could stay focused on the road and it wasn't because of the wine. 

“You want me to walk you home?” Harry asks as Louis parks the car.

Louis quirks an eyebrow at him. “You mean you want to walk me across the backyard to the guest house?”

“Yeah I hear there’s these little gremlins that lurk in the tomatoes,” Harry said dramatically. 

“Oh well that sounds terrifying.” Louis laughs at him. “I would love it if you escorted me home then.”

Harry gladly takes his arm and starts to lead them to the guest house. They’re giggling against one another until they hear rustling in the bushes.

They both stop in their tracks and Harry swears Louis tightens his grip on his arm. “Harry what was that?”

“I don’t know. It must be a rabbit or something,” Harry whispers.

“Okay come on. We’re almost there,” Louis insists, walking a little faster than they were.

They’re passing by a small hedge when all of a sudden something big and furry jumps out and tackles Louis to the ground. Harry hears him let out a small surprised shriek that almost sounded like when Olivia sees a spider.

Harry looks down and sees Clifford on top of Louis, licking his face.

“Oh god Clifford you scared me half to death!” Louis exclaims, trying to catch his breath.

Harry can’t help but laugh. He’s laughing so hard that tears start to form in his eyes and his stomach starts to hurt.

“This is not funny!” Louis shouts.

Harry laughs even harder, causing him to fall on the ground while holding his stomach. “Oh my god Lou! You sounded like a little girl!”

Louis finally manages to get Clifford off of him and decides to straddle Harry, using his hands to pin down his wrists.

“You are not to tell anyone about this alright?” Louis looks down at him with seriousness.

“Not a chance,” Harry cackles. “This is going to be my next topic next week, Louis Tomlinson scared of his own dog!” 

Louis takes this opportunity to tickle him. “You post that and I will end your career Styles!”

“Alright, alright stop please I won’t! I promise!” Harry gasps out.

Louis thankfully relents but he puts his hands back down to pin Harry’s wrists again. "You promise?”

Harry composes himself and smiles widely at him. “Yes, I promise.”

They’re giggling slowly dies down and all that could be heard was their heaving breathing. Louis looks down at him and just stares, making Harry blush under the scrutiny.

“What is it?” Harry asks.

Louis bites his bottom lip and shrugs his shoulder. “Just admiring how beautiful you look.”

Harry looks at him unimpressed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You’re such a little shit.” Louis giggles.

Harry looks up him through his eyelashes. “You know you don’t look too bad yourself Tomlinson.”

Louis suddenly lays most of his body weight on Harry and inches his face closer until they were practically breathing the same air. He takes his right hand and cradles Harry’s cheek, using his thumb to caress the soft skin there.

“Oh yeah? I’m not getting too old for you now?”

He shakes his head. “No you look great actually." Harry's eyes drop down to his lips and Louis carefully watches him. “Even with your grey hair and-”

Harry doesn’t get to finish his sentence because the next thing he knows is Louis’s lips are on his. And just like that a fire was reignited into him.

Harry brings him closer by wrapping his arms around his neck and for just this moment, he lets himself have this.

Harry pushes himself closer to Louis to deepen the kiss. Louis grunts against his mouth and let’s himself be pulled down. Before Harry could wrap his legs around his waist, Clifford comes in and disrupts them.

Harry giggles against his mouth when he feels Clifford licking his face.

“Oh come on Cliff.” Louis groans.

“I think I should finish walking you home,” Harry suggests.

Louis rolls his eyes and reluctantly stands up, pulling Harry up with him. “You know you did a terrible job at escorting me. First you let Clifford tackle me and then you start attacking my face.”

“Oh don’t act like you didn’t like that second part.” Harry grabs his hand and leads him to the guest house.

“I mean I didn’t mind it.” Louis shrugs his shoulder.

They make it to the doorstep and Harry backs himself against the wall, bringing Louis along with him. “Oh you didn’t? So you won’t mind if we did it again?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

Harry simply pulls him by the collar and crashes their lips together. This time the kiss was more intense, years of frustration were finally being let out. Harry let’s Louis in and tries to be get reacquainted with his body.

The wall was digging into Harry’s back but he didn’t mind it one bit. Louis removes his lips from Harry’s, making him whine but it soon turns into a groan when Louis starts to kiss down his neck.

Harry’s eyes flutter close from the pleasure. “Louis,” he moans.

“You want to go inside?” Louis whispers against his ear.

As much as Harry wants to say yes, he knows that he can’t. Harry brings Louis back up by his collar and presses their lips together one last time.

“I would love to,” Harry says against his mouth. "But we should really talk about this in the morning first.”

Louis pants against his face and nods his head. “Yeah you’re right. We have a lot to talk about huh?”

Harry smiles at him. “We do.”

Louis backs away and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Well thanks for walking me home.”

“It was my absolute pleasure. I had a good time tonight by the way.”

“Me too,” Louis agrees. “I guess we have your mother to thank for that.”

“Yeah maybe let’s not mention this to her. I hate it when she’s right.”

“Alright yeah. So I guess this is good night." Louis leans against his door and watches Harry back away reluctantly.

“Mhm but we’ll talk in the morning,” Harry restates just to make himself clear.

Whatever was happening between them, they needed to slow down before they got too carried away.

Louis bites his bottom lip, making it very hard for Harry to leave him but Clifford barks bringing his attention on him.

“Night Haz.” Louis waves him good bye.

Harry walks over to Clifford and tugs him by the collar until he follows him. He looks back toward Louis and smiles dumbly at him. "Good night Lou.”

As soon as he gets inside Harry takes a deep breath and quietly makes his way upstairs, trying not to wake anyone up.

“So how was your night?” a voice calls out in the dark.

Harry closes his eyes for a second to prepare himself to face his mum.

“It was good but I think you already knew that." He turns around to look at her.

“I have no idea what you mean sweetheart,” she plays innocent.

Harry shakes his head but can’t help but grin at her. “I know what you did and I hate to admit it, but thank you.”

Anne pulls him into a hug and clutches him tight. “I love you Harry. I just want to see you happy.”

“I know mum just next time, give me a heads up when you set up a romantic dinner between me and my ex-husband.”

Anne chuckles and even has the decency to blush. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright but I have to ask, what changed your mind about Louis? I mean you pretty much wanted to bite his head off at dinner.”

“Well I saw the way Louis stared at you. He looked at you like you hung the moon and the stars. And you looked at him the same way.” Anne smiles at him fondly. “You know how much I love Louis, it pained me to resent him for so long but I only did it because I thought he made you unhappy. Now that I’m here seeing you like this, I can’t help but thank him for making you smile again.”

Harry feels tears start to well up in his eyes but he manages to keep them in. He clears his throat and pulls his mom into another hug. “I love you mum. Thank you.”

“I love you too sweetheart. Now why don’t you head up to bed? It’s getting late.”

Harry smiles at her one last time before heading up. “Alright, goodnight mum.”

“Good night Harry.”

When Harry finally tucks himself into bed, he thinks about everything that happened tonight.

Kissing Louis tonight was totally different from their other kiss they had. With this one there was no hesitation, there was just passion behind the kiss that Harry still felt numb from.

Tonight was something that Harry has been yearning for ever since he and Louis have been getting along. They actually sat down and talked for hours about everything.

Harry was happily surprised to find out that Louis was still the same loud, charming, and beautiful man he met but this time there was something else. Something that Harry can’t put into words.

If that waitress didn’t tell them the restaurant was closing then they would still be there talking.

Harry missed this. He missed just being able to have these type of nights with Louis. Where they didn’t care about anything else except one another.

Harry tucks his hands behind the back of his head and looks up at the ceiling with a big stupid grin on his face. He hasn’t felt this giddy in a long time.

He closes his eyes contently and lets the silence surround him.

As he lays there, in the quiet, his mind starts to wander a bit. Now that Louis wasn’t there to distract him, the voice in his head that he suppressed the whole night was back.

Previous negative thoughts and doubts started to come crashing back, making the smile on his face disappear.

“Shit what the hell am I doing?” Harry asks himself and shoots right up from his bed.

He can’t get back together with Louis. That just can’t happen. The possibility of getting back together with Louis felt right at the time but Harry blames his lack of judgement on lust.

No matter how amazing tonight was, Harry couldn’t let himself forget all the pain they experienced when they were together.

If they get back together there is no telling on how Louis will act. Will he go back to how he was? Will they go back to fighting? Will they hurt each other again?

Harry did not know the answers to those questions but he knew he didn’t want to risk it. They had a great thing going before tonight and Harry didn’t want to screw it all up just because of some unresolved sexual tension.

Even though being with Louis tonight was an absolute dream, Harry does not want to risk the chance of hurting him again. And frankly, Harry was scared to put his own heart on the line as well.

There is no way he can sleep with all this shit going through his head right now. He needed someone to vent to.

Harry takes out his phone and dials up the only person who would come over at midnight when he was in a crisis.

The phone rings for a few seconds before they pick up.

“Harry? Why are you calling so late? Are you okay?”

“Nick? I need you to come over, now.”

Chapter Text

Louis’s eyes flutter open when the sunlight coming from the window hits him. He rolls over onto his back and a stupid grin automatically takes over his entire face.

His mind reels back to what happened the other night. It was like they were on a second first date with the nervous giggling, awkward hand holding and small kisses. 

Louis touches his lips, trying to convince himself that what happened last night was not a dream, even though it felt like it.

Louis remembers the way their lips moved against one another, and how good it felt to have Harry in his arms again. Pink lips and big green eyes start to take over his mind and now all he wants to do is go see them again.

Louis looks over to his alarm clock which read 7 am back to him, which is a time he never wakes up at, but he knows this is the exact time Harry is awake.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

Those words echo in Louis’s head, making his body vibrate with anticipation. He knows Harry probably didn’t mean to talk this early in the morning, but he couldn’t wait.

Louis jumps out of bed to get ready for the day. He brushes his teeth, combs through his hair and slips into a pair of grey joggers and a random Arsenal jumper.

Before he leaves, he takes one last look in the mirror. Besides the grey hairs and extra wrinkles; the man staring back at him, reminded Louis of a much younger and happier image of himself.

Louis knows that they probably won’t mend everything in one day, but talking it out was a good start.

Nevertheless, Louis was in a terrific mood and he had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.

When Louis enters the main house, all his kids were already lounging in the family room and Anne was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

“Good morning beautiful people!” Louis exclaims brightly, proceeding to kiss everyone. He even goes over to Anne and hugs her from behind, giving her a huge peck on the cheek.

Anne laughs, amused at his actions. “Good morning to you too. You’re in a good mood.”

Louis hooks his chin over her shoulder, and just shrugs as a response. 

“So I’m guessing last night was okay?” Olivia looks over in interest.

“It was great, but we missed you all at dinner.” Louis looks at them knowingly.

“Sorry, the movie ended late so we just went home, but we’re glad you and papa had a good time.” Beckham smiles at him a little too innocently.

Louis shakes his head, amused. His kids were something else.

“Yeah okay. Speaking of your papa, where is he?”

“He’s still upstairs I think,” Olivia answers him.

“Really? He’s usually awake by now.”

“Well he did come home really late. I wonder why that was." Anne smirks at him, knowing full well what transpired between the two of them.

Louis can’t help the blush that takes over his cheeks. “Alright well I’ll go wake him up then.” He slowly retreats up the stairs.

"You go and do that," Olivia said with a wide smile. 

Louis just rolls his eyes and runs up the rest of the way up the stairs. 

After navigating through the halls, Louis somehow finds himself in front of the master bedroom. He knew Harry wasn't in there, but for some reason his legs brought him there. 

When Louis stayed over to help take care of Mila, he figured out that Harry didn't sleep in the master bedroom anymore.

One night, when Louis went to get a late night snack, he noticed one of the guest room's lights were on, so he went in to turn it off, thinking someone must have left them on, but when he opened the door, he saw Harry sound asleep on the bed. As Louis looked around a bit more he noticed that all of Harry's things were in that room. 

Of course, Louis had an idea on why Harry didn't sleep in their bedroom anymore, but he was curious about what Harry would say if he confronted him about it. 

Louis hasn't been in this room since he packed up his last suitcase and left.

He takes a deep breath and pushes open the doors. When he enters the room, the curtains were drawn closed, making the room pitch black. He quickly locates the light switch and flips it on. 

When the light comes on, Louis was almost hoping to see a head full of curls laying on one of the pillows, but of course there isn't. 

The bed was perfectly made, with no wrinkles or creasing in the duvet. Louis takes a look around and notices that the furniture was covered in the dust. He skims his hand on the dresser and a layer of dust coats his fingers. 

The room was exactly the same as the day he left.

Louis walks over to the bay window, which was covered with a heavy curtain. 

Flashbacks of Harry lounging on the bench of the window start to pop up in his head. Sunlight was bouncing off Harry's pale skin, and he had a content look on his face as he cradled a book in his hands.

Louis physically shakes his head to get rid of the ghostly images. 

Having enough with looking at the past, he decides to leave, but before he opens the door he hears Harry's voice in the hallway.

Louis stays in the room and puts his ear against the door. After a few seconds, Louis hears another distinct voice come through. 

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Louis cracks the door open just a smidge to get a peek of who was out there.

He looks just in time to see Harry and another person walk out of his bedroom. When the other person finally comes into view, Louis's stomach drops.

"Thank you so much for coming Nick," Harry's voice cuts through the inner anger bubbling up inside of Louis. 

"Of course, anything for you Haz. I'm glad that I could help."

Louis watches as Nick pulls Harry into a tight hug. Nick whispers something into Harry's ear and leaves a quick kiss on Harry's cheek. 

As Nick pulls away, Louis could see the evident blush on Harry's face. 

Red flashes behind Louis's eyes and all he wanted to do was rip those two away from each other. Instead, Louis digs his nails into the doorway, to prevent himself from moving.

"You'll be here tomorrow for Mila's party right?" Harry asks. 

"Yeah, I might be a little late but I'll be here."

"Okay see you tomorrow then." Harry waves him goodbye. 

"See you H and good luck with Louis. Make sure you tell him." Nick gives him a wink.

Tell me what?!

"I will," Harry answers back. "Oh and do you mind going out the backdoor? I don't want my mom or the kids seeing you."

"Of course, I'll see you tomorrow darling!" Nick animatedly waves goodbye and finally leaves.

Louis had an urge to leave his hiding spot and confront Harry about what the hell Nick was doing here, in his bedroom nonetheless, but he just couldn't get himself to do it. 

It wasn't like Louis has the right to be jealous or upset. They weren't even together. 

So, Louis stayed in the master bedroom, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears from falling out. Once he hears a door shut, he peeks out to see that Harry was gone and bolts out of there.

Louis was about to run down the stairs, but stops short when he realizes that Anne and the kids are downstairs. He hastily wipes any tears that escaped and takes a deep breath.

After a few breathing exercises, he finally manages to make himself look like he didn't just get his heart broken all over again.

Hoping that they wouldn't see him, Louis tries to reach the door without being noticed, but of course that doesn't happen.

"You alright dad? Where's papa?" Beckham asks, bringing everyone's attention on to Louis. 

Louis clears his throat and slowly turns around. "I uh...actually didn't have the chance to wake him up. I just received a call from coach saying that there's an emergency meeting. Said it was urgent."

Louis exaggerates his lie by pulling out his phone and waving it in front of them. 

"Is everything alright?" Harry suddenly comes down the stairs, catching what Louis said. 

His face was full of worry and all Louis wanted to do was smooth out the frown lines on his forehead. 

Louis curses internally and had the instinct to run away. "Yeah probably just coach being dramatic."

"Oh okay." Harry stops in front of him. "Well I hope everything is fine."

Louis nods his head and nervously bounces on his feet. "Thanks. Uh anyway I should really get going." He points his thumb toward the door. 

"Of course." Harry smiles, making it hard for Louis to be mad at him. "Be careful yeah?" 

Harry pulls him into a hug and Louis couldn't get himself to relax into it. Instead he lets Harry wrap his arms around him while his own arms stayed by his side. 

Louis clears his throat and gently removes himself from the embrace, trying not to acknowledge how good it felt to have their bodies pressed against each other again. 

"I will. See you in a bit." Louis rushes out before leaving through the door, not daring to look back to see Harry's reaction. 

Once he was outside, Louis takes a shaky breath and backs himself against a wall. 

"I'm so fucking stupid," Louis mutters to himself. 

He didn't think Harry would be this cruel to give him false hope that they could fix what they had.

If Harry didn't want to be with him, he should have just told him right away, instead of building it up like this. 

This wasn't the Harry that Louis fell in love with. His Harry wouldn't hurt him like this. 

Louis's fingers twitch with the need to have a smoke, but instead he pulls out his phone and texts Niall that he was coming over. 

----------

"Alright I'm here. What's going on with Louis?" Liam asks as soon as Niall opens the door for him.

"He hasn't said anything since he got here. He wanted to wait for you," Niall informed him. "He's sitting out on the balcony."

Liam and Niall walk outside where Louis is and find him sitting on one of the chairs, just staring out on the busy streets of London. 

He looked smaller than he usually does. He was hugging his knees to his chest, making him curl into himself. 

"Hey Lou." Liam grabs another chair to sit next to him.

Louis sits forward and rubs his hands over his face. "Thanks for coming. I just needed to talk to somebody."

"Aren't you supposed to be thanking me for letting you lot come over? I was going to have a girl over today you know," Niall said grumpily, as he situates himself on the other side of Louis. 

Liam glares at Niall's rudeness. "What he means to say is, it was no problem Louis and we're always here for you. Now tell us what's going on."

Where does Louis even start? Louis takes a deep breath and organizes his thoughts. "So last night, Anne and the kids set me and Harry up on a date."

Louis watches the expression on his best mate's faces morph into confusion. 

"Set you up? So like they parent-trapped you guys?" Niall asked, looking a lot more interested than he was before. 

"I mean I guess," Louis shrugs, not knowing how to answer that. 

"That's actually brilliant! I have the smartest god children." Niall smiles happily. 

"So how'd it go?" Liam asks, ignoring Niall's foolishness. 

Louis thinks back to last night and he can't help the smile that makes its way on his face. "It was actually better than I thought it was going to go. We talked the whole night about pretty much everything." He pauses to let out a chuckle. "We um...we even had to be kicked out because we didn't realize the restaurant was closing."

Liam looks at him with fondness. "Sounds like you guys had a good time together."

Louis nods his head with a slight blush on his cheeks. 

"So did you two fuck?" Niall ruins the moment.

"Oh come on Niall really?" Liam scold's the Irishman's behavior. 

Louis clears his throat. "Actually we only kissed a bit."

"What?!" Niall and Liam snap their necks toward him at the same time.

Louis just shrugs his shoulders, nonchalantly. "We kissed. Harry being the dork he is, walked me to the guest house and we kind of got distracted on the way there." 

The two men don't say anything for a while, letting the new information digest.

Niall suddenly breaks the silence and lets out a happy yelp into the air. "Go on Louis! This is great news!"

Liam even slaps Louis on back with congratulations. "Yeah Lou, that's actually really romantic. I'm so happy for you guys."

Louis frowns. "Boys I wasn't-"

"I knew you guys would get back together!" Niall shouts happily. "I call being best man this time!"

"Hey that's not your choice." Liam pouts.

"Well you were best man last time, so I get to be best man this time. It's only fair," Niall refutes. 

"Lads you're not-" Louis tries again, but his two mates are too busy with their own argument.

"You can't just call being best man! It's not even your wedding!" Liam points out.

"Well you can't be best man again! You're just going to give the same boring speech that everyone fell asleep to!"

Before Liam could argue back, Louis breaks them up. "Boys!"

Both men shut up at his outburst and turn their attention back to Louis. 

"You didn't even let me fucking finish." Louis rubs his eyes. "There will be no second wedding. Not now and probably not ever."

"Oh are you guys not having a formal wedding this time?" Niall asks, still clueless. "I mean it makes sense since you two practically spent a million on your first one."

Louis sighs and shakes his head. "No Niall, you're not getting it. Harry and I are not getting back together." His heart sinks after he finally says that out loud. "After the kiss, we both agreed that we would talk in the morning before things got too far."

Niall's smiles disappears when he realizes what Louis is trying to say. "And I'm guessing you two didn't talk since you're in my flat right now."

Louis simply nods his head. "I went to talk to him but when I went to his room, he wasn't alone."

"What do you mean he wasn't alone? Who was with him?" Liam asks. 

"It was...Nick," Louis said quietly. 

"Nick Grimshaw?" Niall asks like he needed clarification. 

"Who else would I be talking about?" Louis sighs.

"What was he doing there?"

Louis can't help the harsh laugh that escapes his mouth. "Oh come on isn't it obvious? They're fuck buddies, why else would he be there?!"

"But they're friends too Louis. Maybe he was there just to talk to Harry or something," Liam suggests, trying to think of a reason why Nick would be there so early in the morning. 

"I doubt it." Louis scoffs. "Not with the way they were clinging to one another when they were saying goodbye."

Liam furrows his eyebrows. "This doesn't make sense. With the way you described the night you had together, I would have thought you two were close to fixing things."

"It's probably a misunderstanding," Niall agrees with Liam. "You know Harry wouldn't do that to you."

"Do I? I mean I hardly know that man anymore." Louis focuses his eyes on the ground not wanting to see the pity in their eyes.

"Come on Louis." Liam frowns at him. "He's the same Harry you met all those years ago. Go and talk to him so you can sort this all out."

Louis shakes his head, he already made up his mind. "No, I thought that he and I could fix things, but clearly he doesn't want to."

"Can you please talk to Harry first?" Liam tries reasoning with him again. "Stop jumping to conclusions."

"I've already made up my mind lads." Louis stands his ground. "Also, even if it was a misunderstanding, he and I are just not good for each other. It's too toxic."

Louis came to this conclusion while he was sitting on Niall's porch waiting for Liam to arrive.

As much as Louis wanted to fix things with Harry, it clearly wasn't going to happen, and he wasn't going to force Harry into anything.

Every time Louis replayed the scenario in his head, he and Harry just ended up hurting each other. That's why Louis decided to just let it be. It wasn't worth the potential heartbreak. 

"So that's it?" Niall speaks up. "You're just going to give up?"

"I'm moving on," Louis corrects him. "And you guys should too."

Niall and Liam want to argue some more to maybe try to convince Louis that he was making a mistake, but it was clear to them that Louis already had his mind set.

"Alright Lou whatever you say, but just know that me and Niall don't agree with this."

"That's alright." Louis shrugs his shoulders. "I didn't come here to ask for your approval. I just came here to tell you guys what's going on."

Niall groans. "This is just too complicated for me."

"It's complicated for everyone, but once this awkward phase with me and Harry is gone then we can go back to being friends...or whatever we were before."

Niall and Liam look at him with doubt but decide not to say anything. 

----------

When Louis was walking to his guest house, he was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice Harry crouched in the garden.

"Louis!"

Louis curses his luck and slowly turns around with a fake grin as Harry comes into view.

"Hi Harry." Louis doesn't move, but manages to give him a small wave.

Harry beams at him as he makes his way closer to Louis until he was standing right in front of him. "Um how's it going?"

Louis awkwardly tries to avoid eye contact, knowing all too well that if he looks into those green eyes of his, he was going to fall right back in. "I'm alright. How about yourself?"

"I'm good, just watering the flowers." Harry gestures to the watering can in his hand. "So um, how did that emergency meeting go?"

Louis nervously licks his lips. "Coach just wanted to go over some last minute things before our match with Liverpool."

He'll never understand how he gets away with so much lies when he so shit at lying.

Harry nods his head in understanding. "Oh okay. That's good." He hesitates before shuffling a little closer to Louis. "So do you uh...want to have that talk now?" he whispers, as if it was a secret. 

Louis takes a sudden step back, making Harry look at him with confusion. "Uh sure. Is it alright if I go first?"

Harry says yes, prompting Louis to continue.

Louis stood there, radiating with nervousness; he only hoped Harry couldn't sense it.

"I just wanted to say, I had a really fun time last night but um...I-I just think that it was a mistake." Louis doesn't lift his gaze up to see Harry's reaction.

"A mistake?" Louis swears he hears Harry's voice crack but it could just be his imagination. 

"Yeah." Louis shrugs. "We both had some unresolved sexual tension obviously and plus with the alcohol, we probably weren't in the right state of mind."

"Oh," Harry says after a minute of silence. "Um...that makes sense."

Louis finally looks up and widens his eyes. "It does?"

"Yeah, I actually was thinking about that as I went to bed. Was going to tell you the same thing actually." Harry smiles, closed mouth.

Louis tries not to imagine Harry snuggling with Nick as they went to sleep, probably laughing at how pathetic he was for actually thinking they would get back together. 

"Really?" Louis forces out a laugh. "I guess we both were thinking the same thing then."

Harry nods his head. "Uh huh."

Louis shuffles his feet awkwardly, wanting to get out of there. "So we're on the same page?"

"Yeah I think so."

"Awesome." Louis smiles, hoping it doesn't look as fake as it feels. "So I guess I'll see you later?"

"Mhm."

Louis awkwardly salutes him goodbye and spins on his heels, ready to sulk the rest of the way in the house. 

Before he could even take a step forward, Harry's voice calls out to him.

"Wait Louis!"

Louis turns around quickly and his heart starts to beat faster. A feeling of hope started to blossom inside him. "Yeah Harry?"

Harry fumbles for words to say, "Um...do you mind picking up Mila's cake tomorrow for the party?"

Louis's bubble of hope bursts and he fills up with disappointment. "Of course where do I pick it up from?"

"Just at that bakery down the road. The same one that made Olivia's cake last year."

"Yeah alright, I can do that."

"Thanks Louis."

"No problem." Louis turns back around and quickly walks to the guest house, without looking back.

Once inside, he slams the door and leans against it. A single tear falls out, before Louis can even stop it. 

He swallows the lump in his throat and forces himself to not start crying.

So much for having a good day. 

----------

"Where is he?" Harry mumbles to himself as he looks back out into the driveway from the window.

He asked Louis to pick up the cake because he thought he could trust him, but now Louis was late and the cake was still not here. 

"Where's who?" Niall asks, as he comes in during the middle of Harry's worrying. 

"Louis! I asked him to pick up Mila's cake and he's been gone for an hour." Harry bites his nails nervously. "The kids are starting to get antsy, and I don't know how much longer Liam can entertain them for."

Niall and Harry look out to the backyard and wince as they see Liam struggling to carry three children on his back and the rest of them pulling at his legs. 

"Maybe he got into traffic or something," Niall suggests, hoping to help Louis out.

"Niall, the bakery is literally just 10 minutes away! Maybe even less since Louis is driving." Harry takes a deep breath and sits down to try to calm himself down. 

Ever since that "talk" he and Louis had yesterday, Harry was not in the greatest mood. 

He already had an unnerving feeling when Louis left so abruptly that morning, but Harry still held on to his optimism, like a love-sick fool. 

When Louis explained to him that the other night was a "mistake", it felt like Harry got punched in the stomach. Harry had never felt kind of disappointment before. 

He wanted to sink to his knees right there, just to beg Louis to give them a chance, but he does have some sense of pride. 

So instead of arguing with him, Harry decided just to agree with him. If Louis thought it was a mistake then clearly it was mistake. 

"Hey H, you alright mate?" Niall asks cautiously, noticing the distress on Harry's face. 

Harry plasters on a fake smile. "Of course! Just worried about the cake is all."

"Is that all you're worried about?" Niall looks over at him, curiously. 

Harry nods his head. "Yeah I'm fine. I promise."

Niall looks unconvinced but decides not to push any further. "Alright if you say so. I'm going to go help Liam with the kids, it looks like he's struggling a bit."

Niall gestures over to Liam who was now down on all fours, carrying 5 toddlers on his back. 

Harry snorts. "I think he would appreciate the help."

"I'm coming to the rescue Liam!" Niall shouts into the air as he runs out to the backyard. 

Harry shakes his head with amusement, at least they're having fun. 

"Looks like they're having a blast," a voice said suddenly. 

Harry looks over and thankfully sees Louis standing there with a cake box in his hands. 

"Oh thank god!" Harry jumps out of the chair and grabs the cake from Louis. "Where have you been?"

"Got stopped by some fans at the shop," Louis simply says, without further explanation. 

"And you didn't think to answer my messages?"

"I got distracted." Louis shrugs his shoulders.

Immediately a feeling of déjà vu hits Harry, bringing back memories he rather forget.

Harry places the cake down and double checks that nothing was damaged. "You could have just texted me where you were. It's not that hard."

Louis ignores him and starts shaking his head, chuckling under his breath. 

Harry just stares at him, confused on why he was laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You're still the same," Louis comments, with annoyance laced into his voice. "Always on my damn case."

Harry clenches his jaw. "I wouldn't be, if you just messaged me back. It's not my fault that you don't know how to use your phone."

"Oh chill out." Louis shoots him a tired look. "I got the cake, didn't I?"

Harry rolls his eyes and pushes his way past Louis to get to the kitchen. "That's not the point Louis. You were late and I had no idea where you were."

"Oh were you actually worried about me?" Louis said with a pout, almost mockingly.

Harry had no idea why Louis was acting like a jerk all of a sudden but he was getting tired of it. 

"So what if I was?" Harry furrows his eyebrows. "Is it so wrong that I actually care what happens to you?"

"I'm a big boy Harry, I can take care of myself. No need to keep acting like you care about me."

Harry slams his hands against the counter out of frustration. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I have no problem." Louis shrugs his shoulders. "You're the one being over-dramatic...like always," he mumbles the last part but Harry still hears him. 

"Like always?!" Harry snaps. "You think me yelling at you all those years was me being over-dramatic?"

"Yes!" Louis yells out, he eyes wide with anger. "You were always up my arse for the littlest things! Exactly what you're doing right now!"

"Can you blame me? You barely were home and I never knew where you were! That's not what a healthy marriage looks like!" 

Louis breaks eye contact, diverting his eyes to the floor. "Then it's a good thing we got divorced, right?"

An uneasy feeling settles between them. They let Louis's words float around them, letting the pain seep in.

Harry rests his arms on the counter and takes a deep breath. Arguing with Louis was always exhausting. No one ever won in their arguments, they would just keep going at it until they were out of words to say.

This was the exact thing Harry was trying to avoid. 

The silence is broken when someone barges into the kitchen.

"Boys! Mila and I wanted to see if you're ready to serve the cake? I know the kids are." Anne comes in with Mila holding her hand. 

As Anne looks up she can feel the obvious tension between the two men. She eyes the two warily, trying to figure out what happened here. 

Harry and Louis share a look, suggesting that they'll let it go for now for the sake of their daughter. The last thing they wanted to do was ruin Mila's birthday. 

"Come here birthday girl!" Louis kneels down, opening his arms for Mila to ruin into. 

Harry watches Mila jump into Louis's arms.

"You wanna see your cake?" Louis asks and Mila answers by nodding her head excitedly. 

Louis carries her over to the cake so she could see it. "Do you like it?" 

Mila looks down at her cake and starts pointing at all the little fondant flowers. "We can't eat flowers. Papa said so," Mila said with a little pout. 

And just like that the fight was forgotten. If there was anything that always brought them together, it was their children. 

Harry can't help but laugh, she was too adorable. "It's okay darling, we can eat these flowers. It's just made of sugar."

"I like sugar! Can we eat now?" Mila asks, already reaching over to grab at her cake. 

Louis grabs her hands before she can get to the cake. "Not yet. We have to wait for everybody and blow out your candles."

"Okay," Mila says with a sigh. "Come on daddy, we get friends now." Mila struggles to try to get out of Louis's arm before he lets her down.

Once on the floor she stares at Louis expectantly and puts her hand out. 

Louis chuckles and takes her hand so she can lead him outside. "Yes ma'am."

Once Louis and Mila were gone, Harry gathers a pile of plates and forks for all the guests.

As he is doing this, he could feel his mother's stare focused on the side of his face. He almost forgot she was there. 

Getting unnerved at her silence, Harry turns to look at her. "Did you need something mum?"

Anne shrugs. "No, but I was wondering what's wrong with you and Louis. I knew I heard some yelling coming from here."

Harry sighs, he knew they were being too loud. He just hopes that no one else heard them. "It was nothing, we just had some disagreements." 

"About what?" Anne asks, curiously.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter anymore." Harry side steps his mother and goes to get some more napkins from the cabinet. 

"I thought you and Louis were okay?"

Harry suppresses a snort. "Me too," he answers quietly. 

"What happened? The other night went well, didn't it? Why are you two acting like you despise each other again?" 

"Let's just say me and Louis came to an agreement that the other night was a mistake," Harry tries to explain.

"An agreement? Is that what you really think?" Anne looks at him pointedly. 

Harry shrugs, he knows that it doesn't really matter what he thinks. "If Louis thought it was a mistake then clearly it was a mistake."

Before Anne could get another word in, kids and parents started to come inside and gather around the table trying to get a look at the cake. 

Harry ignores the look of concern on his mom's face and focuses on placing the three candles on the cake.

After the candles were blown out, they all happily ate their cake, enjoying each other's company.

Harry only invited close family and friends to the party, not wanting it to be too overwhelming. Also less people meant less food to cook.

As soon as the kids were done eating, they went right back outside with their parents following right behind them.

Except for Mila, because she decided to skip using a fork and instead use her bare hands to eat the cake. 

So now, Harry had Mila propped up on the edge of the kitchen counter, trying to clean up all the frosting that ended up on her hands and face. 

"You silly girl, you don't use your hands to eat." Harry carefully wipes some icing that was on her cheek.

"Before utensils were created, cavemen used to eat with their hands," Olivia comments as she helps him clean up Mila.

"Well we aren't cavemen," Harry tells her.

"I have another one please?" Mila asks, while wiggling around to escape from Harry's grip. 

Harry manages to keep her still and wipes the rest of the icing off of her. He tried his best to clean her up but the pink icing already stained her hands. 

"Okay but you have to use a fork this time alright?" Harry demonstrates by grabbing a fork and placing it in her hand. 

Mila smiles and nods her head. "Uh huh I promise."

Harry places Mila in her chair and slices another piece of cake for her. "Olivia can you watch your sister while I clean up?"

"Of course. I rather do that than entertain those little monsters out there."

"Monsters?" Mila asks with a confused look.

"Yeah your little friends are quite the monsters." Olivia gestures to the kids playing outside. 

"Olivia be nice," Harry reminds her daughter. 

"It's true though," Olivia mumbles.

Harry just chuckles and shakes his head in amusement. 

As he is wiping down the table, Louis and Beckham come in from the outside, drenched in sweat. 

"You guys look gross," Olivia comments as they walk in. 

"Me and dad played footie against all of the little kids. We obviously won," Beckham said smugly. 

"Daddy!" Mila squeals from her seat.

Louis smiles big and kisses Mila on the head. "Hello love, you enjoying your party so far?"

"Uh huh." Mila smiles contently.

"That's good. Now if you will excuse me I have to go change, this shirt is soaked with sweat." Louis goes to leave but Olivia stops him.

"Wait we need to take a family picture!" 

Louis and Harry both freeze but thankfully none of their children catch it. 

"Uh can I go change first?" Louis asks. 

"Nope we are doing this right now," Olivia insists. "You know how hard it is to get all of us in the same room at the same time?" 

"She's not wrong." Beckham shrugs his shoulders.

Instant guilt fills Harry and he looks over at Louis who looks like he was feeling the same way. 

"Okay everyone come on! Papa can you take the photo since you have the longest arms," Olivia instructs them.

Harry takes the phone, while everyone starts to clump together to try to get in the frame. 

Beckham and Olivia stood next to each other, with Mila in Beckham's arms. So this left Harry and Louis behind them, awkwardly trying to place themselves without getting too close to one another. 

At the end, half of Louis's face was out of shot. 

"Dad you have to squeeze in closer to get in the picture." Olivia pushes her dad closer, causing him to bump into Harry.

Louis quietly says sorry and clears his throat.

Now that their arms were touching, they couldn't ignore the heat that they felt from one another. 

"Okay everyone smile!" Harry said as he quickly takes a group selfie with his family. 

As soon as he took the picture, Harry extracts himself from Louis, trying to pretend that he wasn't affected by it at all. 

"Awe this is so cute. This is definitely one of our better family photos," Olivia says as she examines the picture. 

Harry looks down for himself and smiles at his three children in the front who had the brightest looks on their face. As his eyes move over to himself and Louis, his smile disappears. 

To anyone else it would look like they were one happy family, but to Harry it looked like two broken individuals. There was a tiredness behind their eyes and their smiles were too wide to be real. 

"At least the kids look good," Louis comments quietly, verbalizing what he was thinking. 

Harry doesn't say anything.

"Where is the birthday girl?!" a new voice all of a sudden comes in to the room. 

Harry looks up and sees Nick waltz in.

"Uncle Nick!" Mila shouts and wobbles over to hug Nick by his legs. 

"Hi there Mila, sorry I'm late darling." Nick bends down to give her a proper hug. "I had to go back home, to get this." Nick pulls out a small box covered in red wrapping paper with a tiny bow on top. 

"I can open it now?" Mila asks, already taking the present from Nick's hands. 

"Of course, you are the birthday girl."

While Mila starts to unwrap her gift, Nick greets Olivia and Beckham with a hug. 

"You guys are getting too big," Nick said, then turns to Harry to give him a hug of his own. "Hey H, sorry I'm late."

"It's alright, there's still cake left if you want some." Harry gestures to the half-eaten cake. 

"No that's okay. Have to watch those calories after all." Nick chuckles and then looks over to Louis, who looked like he rather be anywhere but here. "Louis! How are you doing?"

Louis looks at him strangely. He wasn't used to Nick calling him by his actual name. "Um I'm alright."

"That's great." Nick smiles and then looks between him and Harry, confusing Louis even more. 

"Look it's Ellie!" Mila pulls out a gold chained necklace with an elephant pendant.

"Oh that's gorgeous!" Olivia exclaims, admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry. 

"It looks just like Mila's stuffed elephant," Beckham chimes in. 

The elephant on the necklace, was made of pure gold with tiny detailing on it and on closer inspection the eyes were made of black diamonds. 

"Wow Nick that's beautiful," Harry said with awe. "What do you say Mila?"

"Thank you Uncle Nick! Can I wear it now papa?" Mila asks. 

Harry nods his head and takes the necklace to place it around her neck.

As he is adjusting the chain accordingly, he hears Louis finally speak up. 

"It's a bit much isn't it?"

There was something in his tone that makes Harry freeze temporarily before clicking the necklace in place. "Alright there you are love. Olivia and Beck, why don't you two take Mila back out to play with her friends," Harry suggests and the kids thankfully don't sense the rising tension as they're leaving.

"Actually I got it at half-price. The guy who does my jewelry did it as a favor," Nick said, oblivious to the annoyance on Louis's face. 

"No what I meant was, was it really necessary to spend this much on someone else's daughter?" Louis said, this time with an obvious bite to it to get his point across. 

Nick quickly throws a confused look over to Harry, who was just as lost as he was. "Um look I just wanted to buy something nice for her. Is there something wrong with that?" 

"I'm just saying you shouldn't waste your money on a family that you're not even a part of," Louis answers venomously. 

"Louis stop it right now," Harry says through gritted teeth. 

"What? I'm only telling the truth! I don't even understand what he's doing here."

"I invited him here because he's one of my friends," Harry defends him. "Just like you invited Liam and Niall."

"Oh but I don't fuck Liam and Niall, do I?"

Harry widens his eyes in shock. "Are you fucking high? What's gotten into you today? Why are you acting like a prick?"

"Oh please," Louis scoffs. "At least I'm not the one who brings their fuck buddy to their kid's birthday party!"

All of a sudden Liam walks in with Niall, Gemma and Lottie all trailing behind him. "Woah what's going on here? Olivia and Beckham told us that they heard some yelling," Liam asked.

They all look over to Louis who started to crack under the attention. Harry notices an immediate shift in his expression. The look of anger and frustration vanished from Louis’s face and was replaced with something more somber.

"They heard us?" Louis asks, ashamed at his own behavior. 

"Well you guys were fairly loud," Lottie tells him, looking sympathetic for her brother. 

Louis's eyes started to shift between Harry and Nick, and it was like the fight drained right out of him. 

"Right," Louis mumbles under his breath. "I'm sorry. I think I'll just go cool off upstairs, if you don't mind?" Louis directs the question to Harry.

His eyes avoided making eye contact with Harry's.

Harry finds himself silently nodding his head, still trying to reel himself in from the sudden mood change. 

Louis doesn't say anything else and turns around to leave.

Harry watches his ex-husband warily, as he walks away. Louis looked completely worn out and defeated, making Harry want to reach out and comfort him. 

"You wanna explain what happened here?" Gemma asks as soon as Louis was gone. 

Harry bites his lip anxiously. "I honestly have no idea."

"What's his deal anyway?" Nick asks. "I thought you two worked everything out?"

"I tried to talk with him, but it didn't go the way I thought it was going to go," Harry said sadly. 

"Well how else did you expect it to go?" Liam frowns at him. "You gave Louis false hope by promising you guys would fix things and then turn around and sleep with Nick instead. I know Louis can be a lot but he didn't deserve that." 

“You slept with Nick?” Gemma asks with surprise.

Harry ignores her, instead keeps his eyes focus on Liam. "Wait a second. What are you talking about Liam?”

"Oh don't play dumb," Liam said. "Louis told us that he saw Nick walk out of your bedroom that morning."

Harry widens his eyes at the new information. "Louis saw that? I thought he said he had an emergency meeting with the team?" 

"There was no emergency meeting," Niall informs him. "He was on his way to talk you but found you with Nick instead."

"So all of this is because Louis thinks I slept with Harry that night? What a fucking idiot." Nick chuckles.

“Hey!” Lottie, Gemma and Niall all say at the same time.

"Watch it Grimshaw. This whole thing is your fault," Liam practically growls, with his chest puffed, looking like he was ready to fight. 

Harry quickly stops Liam by preventing him from getting to Nick. "Liam stop! This whole thing is a huge misunderstanding! Nick and I did not sleep together that night!" 

"Then why the hell was Nick in your bedroom?!" Liam demands. 

"Because he was helping me with Louis!" Harry shouts out with frustration. 

"What?" Liam asks in a quieter tone. 

Harry sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I called Nick over because I just needed someone to help me through all this shit with going on with Louis. He was the only one that I knew that would be one hundred percent honest with me."

"So you call the one guy that hates Louis, to give you advice about Louis?" Niall asks, confusion written all over his face. 

"Hey I might dislike the guy, but even I can't deny the love between those two," Nick said sincerely. "All I want is to see Harry happy and the happiest I've ever seen him was when he was with Louis."

Harry blushes at that and stares at the floor beneath him. 

"So let me get this straight, you two just talked?" Liam asks for clarification.

"Yeah mate." Nick nods. "Harry and I haven't hooked up ever since Louis moved back in."

"So we were right!" Niall shouts. "Louis was just being a jealous dickhead."

Realization finally hits Harry and a blossom of hope started to grow inside him. 

"Excuse me, I have to go." Harry moves past them and heads straight for the stairs.

“So wait you slept with my brother?” Gemma directs the question over to Nick, as soon as Harry was gone.

Nick shrugs innocently. “Just a little.”

When Harry makes it upstairs, it was eerily quiet except for the low hum of people talking downstairs. 

Harry checks all the rooms and bathrooms, but he didn't find Louis in any of them.

As Harry leaves another empty room, he notices the door to the master bedroom was cracked open.

Harry sighs and slowly walks over. He knows for a fact Louis was in there because this door was always shut. 

Taking a deep breath, Harry carefully pushes open the door.

As he walks in, it was like he was walking into a time capsule. 

Harry pauses to take his time to look around. He used to love this room. It was the dream bedroom that he and Louis always wanted.

When they built the house, they designed most it together, except the master bedroom. Louis insisted on designing the master bedroom by himself and didn't want Harry to see it until it was finished. 

Of course Harry was a little nervous letting him have full control over their bedroom. Knowing Louis, he expected to see a giant portrait of David Beckham on the wall, but thankfully he was wrong.

Right there in the wall opposite of the bed, was a beautiful custom bay window. There were little nautical designs engraved into the wooden frame and custom shelves were installed for Harry to store his books.

The window had a view out to their property where every morning they could see the sunrise. This used to be Harry’s favorite spot in the whole house, but that was in the past.

After the divorce, Harry couldn’t even stand being in the room. Being there reminded him of all the good memories that he would never get back, so he closed up the curtains, closed the doors and never opened it back up.

Now as he walks in, the curtains to the windows were now open, allowing sunlight to flood the room. 

Harry looks around and the first thing he notices was the dust covering the furniture, making him itch with the need to clean. 

The next thing he notices were the photos on the wall of him and Louis. A picture of them on their wedding day stares back at him mockingly, and Harry wonders if they'll ever look that happy again.

Harry walks to the middle of the room and stops, looking straight ahead at the large bay window.

Louis was there, sitting crisscrossed on the bench of the window with his back turned toward Harry. He was silent and unmoving, not even acknowledging Harry's presence yet. 

The last time they were both here, Harry was throwing Louis's belongings at him, yelling at him to leave. 

Harry decides to bite the bullet and quietly walks over, trying not to disturb the silence. 

He takes a seat beside Louis, mimicking his position and makes sure to leave a large gap between them. 

They don't say anything for a while, making the sound of muffled chatter coming from downstairs louder than it should. 

"Why don't you sleep here anymore?" Louis asks, breaking the silence. 

Harry tenses up immediately, that was not the question he thought Louis would be asking first. "I mean it's kind of obvious isn't it?"

Louis doesn't say anything, he just shrugs his shoulders as a response. 

Harry sighs. "I don't sleep here anymore because there's just too many memories."

Louis keeps his eyes focused out the window, but Harry could see the small smirk forming on his lips. "Good memories I hope."

"Good memories that bring pain."

This makes Louis look at him. Harry doesn't miss the puffiness around his eyes, indicating that he was crying. 

Louis looks at him with an unreadable expression. "I remember you used to love watching me practice football from here." He pats the bench, making dust come up. "I would look up and you were right here, watching me with a book in your hand."

Harry remembers that. This bench is where he did most of his reading. He would put a pillow behind his back and lay back with a new book for that week. 

Sometimes Louis would be out there practicing and Harry would get so distracted that he would forget about his book and just watch his husband from the window. 

"It used to be my favorite spot," Harry reminisces. 

Louis ignores his comment and continues on with re-telling his memory. "When I would be done, I would look up and you would be asleep. I remember coming up here all the time to carry you to bed."

Harry watches a smile quickly appear and vanish on Louis's face.  

This made Harry glance over to the king sized bed. 

Past images of Louis and him cuddling on that same bed, flashes behind his eyes. Countless nights of them just holding each other, letting the walls protect them from the outside world. 

Harry looks away and turns back to Louis who was just staring at him curiously. 

"So you want to explain to me what happened downstairs?" Harry decides to ask, not wanting to dwell in the past anymore. 

"I-I just lost my cool for a moment. I'm sorry."

Harry knows there's more to it than that. "Louis please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Shut me out." Harry raises his voice just a little bit. "We can't go back to how we were when we didn't speak to one another. I don't want us to be like that again. You have to communicate with me."

Louis nervously rubs his hands together, contemplating on what he should say. "I think this was a bad idea," he finally said. 

Harry furrows his eyebrows. "What was a bad idea?"

"Me moving here." Louis exhales. "Don't get me wrong I love seeing the kids' everyday, but I also have to see you. After everything that happened that night, I just don't want to make things uncomfortable for you."

"You're not making me uncomfortable," Harry reassures him. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" 

"Of course not," Louis answers right away. 

Harry takes a second to clear his thoughts. "Look the only thing that would make me uncomfortable is if we go back to resenting one another. I don't think I can take it if you hated me again."

"I never hated you." Louis looks him straight in the eyes and Harry could tell he was telling the truth. "Sure we had arguments, but I never hated you."

"Well I never hated you either if that means anything." Harry gives him a small smile.

After a minute of silence, Harry looks at him with a serious expression. "Louis I know you saw Nick walk out my room that morning."

Harry watches Louis tense up. "Harry I really don't-"

"Can you just let me speak for a minute," Harry interrupts him, making Louis look up at with surprise. "The reason Nick was there was not because of sex. He was there because I was having some...problems."

Louis looks at him with concern. "Problems with what? Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine. I was just having doubts. I mean I had this amazing, perfect night with my ex-husband, the same man who broke my heart. I thought I was insane for actually considering to fix things with you, so I called Nick to help me decide what I should do."

Louis sits up straighter. "But then why did you tell him to go out the back to avoid Anne and the kids?"

"Because I didn't want them to assume anything. You know how mum can get. She would have bombarded me with a bunch of questions."

Louis nods in understanding. "So you and Nick didn't do anything?" 

"We just talked Louis," Harry emphasizes. "Nothing else happened."

Louis looks at him for a minute before turning away. "So what advice did Grimshaw give you? He tell you to forget about me?"

"Actually he told me that I should give us a chance again."

"Really?" Louis said with genuine surprise. 

"Mhm." Harry nods his head. "Nick just wants the best for me and he realized what's best for me, is you." 

Louis looks at him blankly, not knowing how to process that information. "I still don't like him," he said stubbornly. 

Harry just laughs. "That's alright, he still doesn't like you either."

This makes Louis finally smile. 

Harry bites his lip anxiously, trying to figure out what to say next. "So uh...what do we do from here?"

Louis shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know."

Harry tentatively reaches over to grab Louis by his hand. The touch makes Louis look up. 

"Maybe we can have another talk. This time where we're actually on the same page," Harry suggests with a hopeful smile. 

Harry was about to tighten his grip, but Louis abruptly pulls away.

A look of confusion passes through Louis's face and it was like he was having an internal conflict.

"This doesn't change anything you know."

Harry frowns, not expecting that to be the response. "What do you mean? This changes everything."

"No it doesn't Harry." Louis shakes his head. "Look I'm glad that you didn't sleep with Nick, but this doesn't change the fact that we shouldn't be together."

"And why not? I thought you wanted this?" Harry gestures between them. 

"I thought I did but that was until I realized that we haven't changed. I mean did you not just see what happened a couple of minutes ago?!" Louis cries. "We had two arguments in the span of half an hour and our kids heard us! It was those same petty arguments that drew us apart!"

"The only reason we fought was because you thought I chose Nick over you, which obviously is not the case!"

"That's not the point Harry! I don't want to start things again just to have the same outcome. I won't risk putting our kids through that shit again!"

"They won't have to go through it again because we won't repeat the same mistakes! You can't be afraid to give us a chance again Louis!" 

"Well I'm sorry that I'm terrified to get my heart broken again." Louis looks him dead in the eyes, his gaze never faltering.

"And you don't think I am too? I'm scared shitless but the difference is I'm not a coward," Harry snarled, sounding harsher than he intended to.

Louis physically leans away from him, surprised at his words. The anger drains out from him just like what happened downstairs 

"Louis I-"

"You're right," Louis interrupts him. "I am a coward. I'll never be as brave as you are and that's why you deserve better." 

"Louis I didn't-"

"No Harry, you deserve someone one who is willing to give you a chance and I'm sorry that I can't be that person." Louis suddenly stands up and faces Harry. "Look I agree with you that we shouldn't go back to how we were, so is it alright if we just be friends?" 

As much as Harry wanted to argue and fight him on this, he just couldn't. It was clear to him that there was no point in trying to convince him anymore. 

"I-I would like that, but I think I just need some time away from you for a little bit. Just to gather my thoughts and all that." 

"No yeah I understand," Louis promptly answers him. "Do...do you want me to move out?"

'No," Harry said without hesitation. "That would do no one any good. The kids would just hate us again. Let's just try to make"-Harry pauses to let out a dry chuckle-"whatever the hell this is, work."

"Okay," Louis responds simply, keeping his eyes to the floor as if he was scared to make eye contact. 

Harry slowly stands up on shaky legs but quickly orientates himself. He slides his hands over his face, feeling the exhaustion kick in just from having this conversation. 

"We should really get back to the party," Harry suggests, knowing they've been gone too long. 

"Go ahead down. I'll be there in a minute," Louis responds as his eyes glance back out the window. 

Harry stares at him one more time before deciding that it was best to just leave things as they were. 

When Harry turns around to close the doors, he can't help but feel like he's shutting the doors to his past. 

Before the doors shut he swears he hears a broken sob come from inside, but Harry doesn't stay to find out. 

Chapter Text

Anne was finally leaving them, and Harry was having a hard time letting her go.

Having her here the past few days, made him realize how much he missed her and no matter how old he'll get, he'll always need his mother. 

"Are you sure you have to go mum?" Harry asks once more as she puts her bags into the car. 

"Yes, as much as I love you, I do like my peace and quiet." Anne kisses his cheek. "But if you need me to stay, I'll stay."

Harry actually considers it but decides against it. "No it's alright. I'll be fine."

"And Louis?" Anne asks straightaway. 

Harry tenses up at the name. "What about him?"

"Are you two going to be alright?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugs, not knowing what more to say. 

"I wished you two would just stop being idiots and fix things," Anne put bluntly. 

"Mum it's comp-"

"Complicated, I know." Anne rolls her eyes and sighs, lifting her hand to caress his cheek. "I just want you both to be happy." 

Harry stays silent and lets himself lean into his mother's touch. 

"What the hell do you have in this bag Anne, bricks?" Louis joins them outside, clearly struggling to carry one bag. 

"I had a bit of a shopping spree," Anne said bashfully. "There was a lot of good deals to be fair."

Louis drags the bag and practically flings it into the boot of the car.

"So this is where Harry gets his shopping habits from," Louis teases, glancing over to Harry for his reaction but finds him idly on his phone instead.

"Oh hush." Anne pulls Louis into a hug that he easily relaxes into. "It was nice seeing you again Louis."

"It was nice seeing you too. Have a safe trip home alright?" Louis gives her one last squeeze before letting go. 

"Will do." Anne looks between them with a hopeful look on her face. "I love you guys, I'll call you when I get home."

Harry and Louis watch Anne get into the car and stay in the drive way until she leaves. Once her car was out of sight, it was silent, except for the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves, leaving a nice breeze on this warm night. 

It was pitch black outside, the only source of light was coming from the porch lights. 

There were plenty of stars scattered across the sky, each one brighter than the next. That's a sight you would never get to see in London.

This was one of the many reasons why Harry and Louis didn't want to live in the city. 

As much as they both loved London, they couldn't stand the sound of cars honking every second of every day and the intense amount of pollution in the air. 

Living outside the city was much more peaceful, especially since there weren't police sirens waking them up every morning. 

"The sky looks really nice tonight huh?" Louis's voice cuts through the silence, trying to make friendly conversation. 

Harry pretends not to hear him and instead keeps his eyes focused on the sky. 

Louis looks over at Harry, about to repeat himself but before he could, his brain kind of short circuits when his eyes land on him.

As Harry is staring up at the stars, the angle accentuates his jawline, making it even sharper than usual. His neck was being shown-off, along with his collarbones due to his low-cut shirt. 

Louis keeps studying Harry's features, finding each one more beautiful than the next. He stops at Harry's eyes which were reflecting the stars in the sky, making it look like there was sparkles in them. 

He was breathtaking. 

Louis stares for a couple more seconds before snapping himself out of it.

"Um, I'm really going to miss your mum. As much as she scares me, she's always there for us and the kids."

Harry again says nothing and instead starts to walk toward the house, completely ignoring Louis. 

Louis stares after him in disbelief. "Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment?!"

Harry continues walking as if he didn't hear him and goes inside, shutting the door closed behind him. 

Louis clenches his jaw and kicks at the grass.

"Prick," he mutters under his breath.

He looks up into the night sky one last time and wonders how his life got to this point. 

----------

Even though the Tomlinson's were very much involved in football, the other sport that they took seriously was dance.

When Olivia first got into dance, Harry and Louis were hooked from the start.

The combination of helping their daughter get ready for the show, and the excitement of seeing her dance on stage was always an amazing experience. 

She also danced competitively, which was definitely a plus for Louis and Harry, who were the most competitive people you'll meet. 

Even though things between them were shaky, they've been trying their best to remain civil in front of their kids, but of course their kids were smart enough to know that there was something wrong.

Olivia even sat both of them down before the show just to tell them to behave themselves during her routine. Harry and Louis had no other choice but to agree. 

Harry was still not talking to Louis, which Louis found extremely annoying.

Louis understood where Harry was coming from and he decided to grant him his space like he asked for, but he never expected Harry to give him the silent treatment. 

Right now they were back stage with the rest of the dance parents, trying to get their kids ready for the competition. 

During things like these, Louis and Harry had a system; Louis did the hair and Harry did the makeup.

They were usually the best team and had a good dynamic going on but this time it was different. 

"Harry pass me the bobby pins please," Louis asks, while doing Olivia's hair. 

After many years, Louis perfected the recipe to a perfect dance bun: a shit ton of bobby pins and a half a can of hairspray. 

Louis still has his hand out for Harry to give him the bobby pins, but after a minute he still doesn't feel them in his hands. 

He glares over at Harry, who he knows heard him. "Harry, can you pass me the bobby pins?" Louis repeats once more. 

Again, nothing. 

"Damn it Harry, I know you hear me. Can you just pass me the bloody pins please!" Louis raises his voice, catching the attention of the rest of the people in the room. 

"For goodness sake, here you go dad." Olivia reaches for the cup of bobby pins herself and shoves it into Louis's hands. 

Louis mumbles out a thank you and gets back to work. 

After a few more minutes of silence, Olivia speaks up. "I thought you guys said you were going to behave yourselves." 

"I am, but I guess your papa didn't get the memo," Louis grumbles. 

Harry again ignores his snarky comment and directs his attention on to Olivia. "Alright Liv, I'm all done. How'd I do?"

Olivia looks into the mirror and smiles. "Lovely as always papa, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I think one of the moms needed help with a broken zipper. I'll be right back." Harry rushes away, not even taking a glance over at Louis.

Louis sighs and sprays a tiny bit of hairspray to finish it up. "Alright Liv, you're all set sweetheart."

He steps back and just admires how beautiful his daughter looked.

Her dark course hair was pulled back in a tight bun with curly strands framing her face, and her makeup was subtle but it made her look so grown up. 

"You look so beautiful." Louis fondly smiles at her. 

"Thank you dad and thanks for helping me get ready."

"Of course." Louis kisses her on the head. "Alright I have to go now. Beckham and Mila are sitting out there by themselves. Good luck out there."

Before Louis leaves, he glances back at Harry who was chatting away with one of the dance moms, looking very happy as if there wasn't anything wrong.

"What did you do to make him so upset with you?" Olivia asks, noticing the sad expression on Louis's face. 

Louis shakes his head, not wanting to stress his daughter out. "Don't worry about it." He puts on a fake smile. "I'll see you in a bit, love you darling." 

As soon as Louis was gone, Harry stops his conversation and comes back to his daughter. "You look gorgeous Olivia!"

Olivia just sits back down in her chair and stays silent. 

"Liv? Is something wrong?" Harry asks, noticing a shift in her emotions.

"Why are you being so mean to dad?" Olivia asks timidly. "I asked you to play nice, just for today."

"I am playing nice, we weren't fighting," Harry reasons. 

Olivia gives him an unimpressed stare. "You're giving him the silent treatment which is just as worse. You know how important this night is to me, so why can't you do me this one simple favor?" 

Harry sees how upset his daughter was at him and he felt instant guilt. 

"I'm so sorry Liv." Harry crouches down so he was eye-level with her. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Olivia's face softens. "I don't know what dad did, but whatever it was I'm sure he had his reasons. So just go easy on him, we both know how sensitive he can get even though he acts all tough."

"Yeah I know," Harry sighs. 

"Alright parents!" The dance instructor claps her hands, gaining the room's attention. "It's time for you to find your seats! Please exit the dressing room!" 

Harry hugs his daughter a little tighter than usual. "Good luck, I love you."

"Love you too and remember what I said." Olivia looks at him pointedly.

"Yes ma'am, you have nothing to worry about," Harry promises her before he leaves.

When Harry gets to his seat, he finds Louis and Mila both asleep. He looks around at the noisy, nearly full theater and wonders how they could be sleeping through all this.

Mila was curled up on Louis's chest, drooling slightly on his shirt and Louis was practically passed out in his chair. 

Harry couldn't hide the fond that takes over his face.

Before Harry sits down, he carefully takes Mila off of Louis, making sure not to wake any of them up. 

"How long have they been asleep?" Harry asks Beckham who was thankfully sitting between him and Louis. 

"Since dad got here," Beckham answers him, looking a little distracted.

"They must be really tired huh?"

"Yeah..." Beckham pauses for a second. "...um did you and papa have a fight?" he asks suddenly. 

Harry looks over to him, cautiously. "Why are you asking?"

"Because dad was acting strange. He wasn't in the mood to talk and joke around, which isn't like him."

Harry starts to distractedly comb through Mila's hair with his fingers. "I think he was just tired."

Beckham thankfully doesn't ask any more questions. 

After a few more minutes a woman comes on stage and announces that the competition will begin in 5 minutes. 

"Ah fuck." Harry hears Louis groan as he starts to wake up from all the commotion.

Louis stands up and rolls his head to get rid of the kink in his neck. As he's doing this, Louis suddenly starts patting his chest and frantically looking around for something. 

"Where's Mila?!" Louis asks with a slight panic in his voice.

"She's right here." Harry waves him over to get his attention.

Louis looks over to find Mila sleeping soundly in Harry's arms. "Oh thank God." He let's out a breath of relief. 

"Sorry if I scared you. I just thought you would be more comfortable if she wasn't lying on top of you."

Louis clears his throat. "Well uh thanks for that."

Harry doesn't say anything else, instead settles for a tight-lipped smile. 

It's progress. 

"So is it starting yet?" Louis asks in a middle of a yawn. 

"5 more minutes," Beckham answers him.

"Okay well I'm gonna go to the toilet. I'll be right back." Louis turns to leave but stops short when he comes face to face with a young boy with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. "Oh hello," Louis said with a surprised tone in his voice. 

"Hi Mr. Tomlinson, it's so nice to finally meet you." The boy smiles brightly at him.

"Good to meet you too lad. What do you want me to sign?" Louis asks, already pulling out a pen like the prepared person he is. 

Harry can't help but roll his eyes. He'll never understand how he married such an arrogant man. 

"Oh no I-"

Before the poor boy could speak, Louis interrupts him. "Those are lovely flowers by the way, are they for one of the dancers?"

"Oh um yes. They're for your daughter actually," the boy says to him.

Louis's eyebrows practically disappear in his hairline. "Excuse me?"

"Louis," Harry interrupts, making Louis over at him. "This is Brady."

"Brady?" Louis was confused and slightly concerned that this random boy has flowers for his daughter.

"Olivia's boyfriend." Harry silently tries to give him the 'please don't freak out' look. 

Louis frowns. "I thought his name was Luke?"

"That was about year ago and they broke up," Harry explains. 

"What?!" Louis exclaims, clutching his heart like he was about to faint. "How come she never tells me these things?"

"Because you're you." Harry felt like that should be explanation enough. 

Louis slowly turns back to Brady who was looking a lot more nervous than he was a minute ago. 

"Well Brady it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry, I thought you were a fan," Louis apologizes, slowly slipping the pen back into his pocket. 

"No it's okay. I actually am a big fan of yours."

"That's great," Louis said with a forced smile. "I um actually have to go to the toilet so if you'll excuse me."

Louis pushes past Brady and practically fast walks out of there. 

"Hey Brady, I saved a seat for you here next to me." Harry gestures him over.

"Thank you Mr. Styles." Brady makes his way over to him. "Sorry I'm a bit late, my Uber driver got a little lost coming here."

"You're alright. It hasn't started yet anyway," Harry informs him. "Also I just want to apologize for Louis's behavior. He didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah I figured." Brady chuckles. "But it's okay. I understand."

Harry simply smiles at the boy and turns forward when the lights starts to flicker, signaling that the show was about to start. 

Louis swiftly comes back, almost tripping down the steps when the lights dim all the way down. 

The curtains start to open, silencing the crowd. As the curtains draw back even further it revealed Olivia and her dance mates paused on stage as they wait for the music to kick in.

"Let's go Liv! You go baby girl!" Louis yells out, disrupting the silence.

Even from here, Harry could see the blush overtaking Olivia's face. Deciding to embarrass her some more, Harry joins in. 

"Come on Liv! We love you darling!" Harry shouts.

Harry looks over to Louis, who he couldn't see too well because of the lighting, but he thinks he sees a smile on his face. 

"Excuse me, do you mind?" A lady from the back shushes them.

Harry and Louis just face forward and start snickering like children. 

----------

Olivia ended up getting second for her solo and first for her group dance. Overall, it was a successful night and Harry and Louis couldn't be any prouder. 

After the competition, they decided to go out to dinner and Harry invited Brady along as well. Louis of course was not thrilled about it, but it's not like he had a say in the matter anyway.

"I still can't believe you embarrassed me like that," Olivia tried to sound annoyed but there was a slight smile on her face.

"Oh come on. We're your dads. Our job is to embarrass you guys." Louis nudges his daughter.

"I'm proud of you Liv, you were incredible up there," Brady said with a glint in his eye as he looks at her. 

"Thanks Brady," Olivia said shyly and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.

Louis clears his throat loudly and slouches back in his chair grumpily. "Where did that waiter go? I think I want that wine now."

When Louis's wine is brought to him, he takes a big gulp, letting the alcohol burn down his throat.

"So Olivia, what happened to Luke?" Louis asks, completely ignoring that Brady was here. 

Olivia tenses up before answering. "We broke up a long time ago dad."

"Shame I never got to meet him. Why'd you two break up?"

Harry looks over at Brady who looked a little uncomfortable and decided to step in. "Louis maybe we shouldn't talk about this right now."

"What? I'm just curious." Louis shrugs. 

"Well maybe you should just save your curiosity for when we get home." Harry takes a sip of his own wine. 

Olivia looks between them, sensing the rising tension.

"I broke up with him because we just weren't good together," she admits, not wanting her dads to start fighting. "We barely had anything in common anyway."

Louis looks pleased with her answer. "So you broke up with him. Who knew my daughter was such a heart breaker."

"Dad please." Olivia shields her face with her hand, letting her fingers rub at her forehead.  

"Alright, alright I'll stop." Louis puts his hands up. "I'm just glad you're okay. I mean I can see that you're not heartbroken." He eyes Brady who has been very silent during this.

Brady clears his throat, trying to cover any nervousness in his voice. "I just want to apologize Mr. Tomlinson, for kind of ambushing you today. I didn't know you weren't aware that I was coming."

"I didn't even know you existed," Louis mutters, earning him a kick in the shin from Harry.

"Ow what the f-" he cuts himself off when he sees the look Harry gives him. "I mean it's alright lad. It's not your fault that certain people didn't warn me."

Harry internally groans. "Alright how about we order some dessert."

Thankfully the rest of dinner goes surprisingly well.

Louis was starting to warm up to Brady once he found out he played football and they ended up having a lovely chat together.   

As for Louis and Harry, they barely spoke to one another and it was a very passive aggressive night for them but at least they weren't fighting. 

"Wow I'm stuffed." Louis leans against his chair while patting his belly that was slightly bulging from all the food. 

"Yeah me too," Brady agrees. "I just want to say thank you again for inviting me and treating me for dinner. That was very nice of you."

"Mate they already like you, no need to keep sucking up to them," Beckham mutters. 

"Beck stop it," Harry chastises him before turning back to Brady. "You're welcome Brady, we just want to thank you for making our daughter happy. I haven't seen her smile like this before." 

Olivia blushes but tries to play it off with a scoff. "Stop, it's just my regular smile papa."

"No, this smile is different. I know you guys are young, but I can tell that you two really care for one another."

"And you can tell that just from a smile? How?" Olivia quirks one of her eyebrows.

Harry wrings his hands together, a nervous habit of his. "Let's just say I used to smile like that before."

He doesn't mean to, but Harry quickly glimpses over to Louis, who was just staring into his glass of wine. 

Before they went home, they dropped off Brady at his house, making sure he got there safely. Olivia wanted to walk him to his door step but Louis promptly said no.

As soon as they enter the house, Harry takes off his shoes and stretches out his toes once they were free. As much as he loved his pointed toed boots, they squeezed the hell out of his feet.

The kids scurry off to get ready for bed, leaving Louis and Harry downstairs by themselves. 

It's the first time they've been alone together since they had that argument in their bedroom. 

"Fuck my feet are killing me," Harry groans, while plopping himself down on the sofa. 

Louis looks amused and sits next to him. "If that was your way of asking me to rub your feet the answer is no."

Harry chuckles, already rubbing his feet himself. 

They sit in silence, letting themselves unwind from their long day. 

Louis leans back further into the couch and sighs loudly. "So...are you talking to me again?"

"I don't know, am I?" Harry responds cheekily. 

Louis glares at him, unimpressed. "You confuse the hell out of me sometimes you know?"

"You confuse me too."

"Whatever," Louis grumbles and decides to change the subject. "I still can't believe Olivia has a new boyfriend already."

"I like Brady," Harry comments. "I think he'll be good to her."

"Well he better be. I have no problem beating up a little kid," Louis said semi-seriously.  

Harry playfully smacks him on his leg. "Don't say that."

Louis laughs and tilts his head back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "Our kids are growing up way too fast."

"I know right. Soon they'll be going off to uni and then they'll be having families of their own." Harry smiles at the thought. 

"I wonder what will happen between us," Louis thinks aloud. 

Harry's head snaps back up to look at him and is met with a serious stare. "I don't know."

This makes them both silent, as they try to imagine what might happen between them in the future. 

Will they still be fighting? Are they friends? Will they be married to someone else? 

There were so many possibilities on what might happen with them and it was slightly terrifying. 

Harry clears his throat and turns his body so he was facing Louis. "I want to apologize for today."

"For what?" Louis asked, pretending that he didn't know. 

"You know what."

"Yeah but I just want to hear you say it," Louis said smugly. 

Harry rolls his eyes but ultimately swallows his pride. "I'm sorry for giving you the silent treatment. It was rude and childish of me."

"Can I ask why though?" Louis asks. "I know you wanted space, but why the silent treatment?"

Harry takes a deep breath before speaking. "I guess I thought it would be easier that way."

Louis digests his words, trying to make it make sense in his head, but decides not to ask anymore questions.

"Okay well I accept your apology," Louis responds. "But let's promise each other that we will never resort to that again. I know it's shocking, but I missed hearing your deep annoying voice telling me off."

"I don't know why I put up with you," Harry tries to hide his fondness by biting down his smile. "But yeah I promise. We really have to work on our communication skills don't we?"

"Yeah we do."

"That's really good to hear because I was thinking..." Harry sucks in a breath, preparing himself for what be's going to say next. "...that we should go to divorce counseling."

Louis almost chokes on his spit. "Absolutely not."

Harry knew that, that was going to be his answer. "But you just agreed that we should communicate better."

"Yeah between ourselves not with some random person who doesn't know a thing about us!"

"And that's exactly why a therapist is a great option for us! Since they won't know nothing about us, they'll be unbiased and have an outsider point of view of our situation."

Louis groans into his hands. "I just don't like the idea of a stranger judging our life."

"Please Louis!" Harry pleads. "The only way we can move on is if we just sort out all our shit."

"Give me a few days to think about it."

Harry takes this as a win since he didn't say no. "Alright sure."

Louis doesn't say anything back, instead he just stares off into space. 

"Look if you don't want to do it, I won't force you," Harry tells him, noticing the solemn look on his face.

"Oh no, I wasn't thinking about that."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Just how different our lives are now from when we first got married."

Harry curls up in the corner of the sofa, hugging his knees to his chest. "Did you ever imagine us to be where we are now?"

"What, super rich and famous?" 

Harry glares at him. "No you idiot. I meant divorced." 

"I know what you meant. I just like messing with you." Louis chuckles "But to answer your question, no."

"Me either."

Louis looks over at Harry who was cuddled against the couch. He stares at his profile, just admiring how soft he looked. No matter how old they get, he was still the most beautiful man he's ever seen.

Harry's grey roots were starting to pop back up, probably meaning that he was going to dye it again.

Louis wishes that he just grows it out. He kind of wants to see what Harry would look like with grey hair. 

"What is it?" Harry asks once he notices Louis was staring. 

Louis shakes his head and slowly stands up. "Uh nothing, I'm just tired. I think I'll head to bed now."

"Alright good night." Harry yawns, getting tired himself. 

"Oi you better not sleep on the couch, you have a bad back as it is grandpa," Louis teases. "Don't make me carry you up."

"Now that is a lovely idea." Harry smiles. "Too bad you're too small to carry me."

"Oh I think we both know I'm perfectly capable of holding you up," Louis said without realizing it, until he sees the blush on Harry's face. "I mean- shit I'm sorry that was weird."

Harry lets out an awkward laugh. "Um no you're fine." He stands up. "I think I'll just walk myself upstairs." 

"Yeah, um have a good night Harry."

Harry walks backwards toward the stairs, keeping his eyes trained on Louis. "Good night Lou."

And of course as Harry keeps walking backwards, he trips on the first step. 

"Still clumsy as ever I see Styles." Louis looks at him fondly, creating crinkles at his eyes. 

Harry quickly composes himself and jogs up the stairs, this time facing the right way.

"Go to bed Tomlinson," he says before disappearing up the stairs. 

Louis stares at the empty staircase for a few seconds before turning around and heading out the door to the guest house. 

----------

Louis finally decided to go out with Lucas. 

Lucas has been asking him out for a while, but Louis has been putting it off because for one, he didn't date teammates and two, because of Harry. 

He didn't want to start anything new with anybody while he was having problems with Harry, but now that they were semi-okay, he thought it was about time. 

Louis hasn't been on a proper date in so long that wasn't with Harry, and he was a little nervous. 

No matter how many dates he and Harry went on, there was never a boring moment. Harry never failed to make it a new experience each time.   

Tonight, Louis decided to get out of his comfort zone and go on a date with someone who was the complete opposite of Harry. 

Lucas was loud and enjoyed being the center of attention, much like Louis actually.

The only thing was that Lucas was 7 years younger, which would make him the youngest guy Louis has ever been involved with and it's not a bad thing it's  just...different. 

He's definitely not the usual type Louis went for but these stark differences are what made Louis say yes; he wanted one night where he wasn't thinking about his ex-husband.     

It was about 30 minutes into the date and so far it wasn't going that great. 

Lucas insisted that they have dinner at his place so he could "show-off" his cooking skills.

Louis was actually excited to see what he made but once he saw that it was cheeseburgers, he felt instantly bad. 

"God I'm such an idiot," Lucas berates himself. "I totally forgot about your diet restrictions before a game. I even remember you saying that in an interview."

"Hey no it's okay," Louis tries to calm him down. "I felt so pretentious telling you that I couldn't eat it because of that."

Before he met Harry, Louis didn't care about eating healthy. Even the team's nutritionist had a difficult time handling Louis's stubbornness.

Louis never realized how much an impact changing his diet could have on his performance until Harry started to make him these healthy delicious meals before every match. 

Louis started to see improvement in his stamina and endurance, and he'll never admit it to Harry or his nutritionist, but it ultimately made him a better player.

Ever since then, Louis avoided anything fatty or fried a few days before a game and stuck to his diet plan.  

"No you're not pretentious, you just care about your body." Lucas pauses, dragging his eyes up and down Louis's body. "I could actually learn a thing or two from you actually."

Louis blushes and squirms where he stands. He still wasn't used to how forward Lucas was.

"Um well if you want, I could give you a list of foods that are good to eat before a game. Most of it consists of vegetables and a lot of- "

Louis's nutrition lesson is thankfully cut off by his phone. He looks down at his screen and sees that Harry was the one calling him. 

He was just going to let it go to voicemail but Harry usually never calls him this late. 

"Do you mind if I take this?"

"No, go ahead," Lucas answers him. "I'm just going to figure out what we can have for dinner. Does a salad sound good?"

Louis can practically hear his stomach growling. "Yeah that's fine, thank you. Sorry again."

"You're fine." Lucas winks at him. "I'll be right back."

Once Lucas was out of sight, Louis answers his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Louis." Harry's deep voice comes through. 

"Hi, is something wrong?" Louis asks. 

"Oh no, I was um just wondering where you were. It's just, its late and you didn't show up to dinner and I was um...shit I'm doing it again aren't I?"

"Doing what?" Louis said, slightly amused at how nervous he sounds

"I'm acting like an over-protective mother again."

Louis can't help the laugh that escapes his mouth. "It's alright Harry."

"Okay, so um where are you, if you don't mind me asking?" 

"I'm uh." Louis really didn't know how to answer this. "I'm at-" 

"Hey Louis!" Lucas peeks his head out from the kitchen. "Do you want dressing on your salad?"

Louis covers his phone speaker. "No thanks."

"Alright and do you want a beer?"

"Uh we have a game tomorrow," Louis reminds him. 

"Oh shit that's right." Lucas rolls his eyes. "I always hated that rule. Is water alright then?"

"Yeah that's fine. Thank you." Louis presses the phone back to his ear once Lucas was gone. "I'm back. Sorry about that."

"You're fine. Who was that?" 

"Oh that was just Lucas." Louis tries to play it off as if it was nothing. 

It was silent for a minute on the other side of the line.

"Oh,"  Harry's voice crackles through. "Um are you guys hanging out?"

"Yeah um something like that." Louis has never felt so awkward. "He's making us dinner at his."

"Oh so it's a date?"

"Yeah," Louis admits. "I just decided to see where it could go."

"So I guess you threw out your no dating teammates policy out the door huh?" 

There was a little bit of bitterness in Harry's voice that Louis picked up on. 

"Um I..." Louis didn't know how to respond to that.

"Shit sorry don't answer that. I didn't mean to sound so harsh." Harry quickly backtracks. "So um what's he making for you?" he asks instead. 

"Well he's um making salad," Louis answered him lamely. 

"Oh that's...that's it?"

Louis represses a snort. "Yeah well he first made cheeseburgers but I have-" 

"A game tomorrow," Harry finishes for him. "You probably felt like a big arsehole huh?" Louis could hear the smile in his voice. 

"Shut up." Louis grins. "But yeah I did."

"Ah the life of a big football player like you." Harry sighs. "Anyway if that salad doesn't fill you up, I made you that baked chicken and veggie dish you like."

"Really? Thanks Harry, I really appreciate that." Louis's mouth was already watering at the mention of Harry's cooking. 

"It's no problem. I put it in your fridge for you." 

"God you spoil me Styles," Louis said dramatically. "But seriously thank you. How are the kids by the way?"

For some reason Louis didn't want this phone call to end, and was trying to think of anything to keep it going. 

"They're good. I just put Mila to bed and I'm about to head to bed too. I just wanted to check up on you. Anyway, I'll see you in the morning for breakfast?"

"Of course." 

"Alright well I should let you get back to your date."

For a split second Louis almost forgot he was on a date. He looks up and finds Lucas at the dining table patiently waiting for him to finish his phone call. 

"Yeah um thanks again Harry. I'll talk to you later. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Lou."

Louis ends the call and immediately shifts his attention over to Lucas. 

They eat their salads and have small talk here and there, but in the back of Louis's mind he couldn't help but crave the taste for baked chicken.

So much for not thinking about his ex-husband for the night. 

----------

Harry was on his way to the Sky Sport TV studio where he was asked to fill in for one of the other journalists who called out sick. 

Even though Harry loved working from home, working at the studio with the rest of his colleagues was always nice. 

Harry loved collaborating with everyone and just being in a creative environment like that made him feel really good. 

When he first started journalism, Harry didn't expect to be a football journalist. He actually wanted to go into something with politics, but when he got an internship with Sky Sports he couldn't turn it down. 

Harry just wanted the experience, but after spending a year with them he fell in love with the crew there and they really became a family. They eventually offered him a full-time job and of course he took it. 

Before he and Louis had kids, he was a full-time journalist on-air and was one of the main football anchors. Harry absolutely loved it, but eventually he decided to give all that up and work more behind the scenes when Beckham was born. 

Louis tried to talk him out of it but Harry already made up his mind. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with his kids and he couldn't do that if he was working every day. 

When Harry walks into the building he immediately greets the security guards like always and says hi to Laura, the secretary at the front desk. 

"You're looking beautiful today Laura." Harry smiles at her. "Did you dye your hair?"

"Just added some highlights," she said brightly, flipping her hair. "Thanks for noticing."

"Looks amazing on you darling. So where's my partner in crime?" 

"Nick's in his dressing room getting ready, which you should be doing by the way. It's almost time for you guys to go on air."

Harry looks at his watch and winces. "Shit you're right. I'll see you later Laura!" he yells as he sprints down the hall to his own dressing room. 

After a few minutes in hair and makeup, Harry was finally done and was out on the set, reviewing the content him and Nick were going to talk about. 

"Alright Styles, let's get to work!" Nick claps his hands loudly, as he finally comes out of his dressing room. 

"Finally," Harry sighs. "How did I finish before you when I got here half an hour late?" 

"Well I'm sorry that we can't all have perfect skin and gorgeous hair like you Harry." Nick sticks out his tongue childishly. 

Harry rolls his eyes and makes his way over to the desk that they use for the show. He takes a seat in his rolling chair, letting himself get comfortable.

The lights were all up, making him sweat a little, but it was just fueling his excitement. 

Harry missed this. There was always something so special about stepping in front of a camera and knowing thousands of people were watching you. 

That might seem a bit daunting to some people, but for Harry he thrived under all the attention.

Harry watches their producer, Penelope, rush around making sure everything was in place, while yelling something into her mic to the tech guys. It seemed a bit chaotic, but that was showbiz. 

"I love this job." Nick sighs contently as he leans back into his chair. 

Harry couldn't agree more. 

"Alright everyone!" Penelope, calls out. "We're on air in 3...2...1!" 

The segment went by fast and before Harry knew it they were closing out the show and ending the live broadcast. 

"It's always nice having you here Harry. Tell me again why you left?" Nick asks, as they're hanging out in his dressing room. 

"Because I prefer to work from home so I can watch my kids," Harry reminds him even though he knew he's told Nick this a hundred times already. 

"Well that was back when Olivia and Beckham were still babies, but now that they're all grown up you really have no more excuses," Nick points out. 

"Nick just drop it. I really do enjoy being at home."

"Come on Harry. I see the way you light up when the cameras are on. You love this and I know you miss it."

Of course Harry missed it, but he also had a lot to think about. He didn't want to become that parent that works all the time.

He saw firsthand, on what that can do to a family. 

"Let's talk about something else," Harry changes the subject. 

Nick looks like he wants to argue but sighs instead. "Alright fine. How's it going with Louis and you?"

"Actually I was thinking we talk about you," Harry avoids the question again. "How's your life going?"

Nick shakes his head. "Nope, no more changing the subject. Answer the question."

"It's going fine." Harty shrugs. "We talked and now we're getting along I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean we're definitely not best friends, but I'm just happy that we're not fighting. I'm content on where we are."

"And where are you guys exactly?" 

"We're friends," Harry said with more confidence. "Anyway apparently he's dating someone now so..." 

"What?!" Nick exclaims. Nick always loved a good gossip. "Who?!"

"Lucas Smith," Harry mutters, doing his best to not sound bitter. 

"Arsenal's rookie?" Nick's eyes were popping out from his head. "Louis's dating that little twink?!" 

Harry sighs, rubbing his temples with his fingers, already regretting telling him. 

"Holy shit isn't he only twenty-one?!" Nick gasps. "Sheesh, I didn't know Louis liked them that young. I mean you were younger than him too, but Lucas is almost a whole decade younger. Do you think he has some kind of daddy kink? Wait did you and Louis ever-"

"Okay!" Harry cuts him off. "That's enough." 

"Sorry," Nick said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to upset you...are you jealous?" 

"No," Harry snorts. "Why would I be?"

"Well Lucas is a fit guy you know. Pretty eyes, nice smile. Also has a fantastic bum on him, and did you see his-" Nick cuts himself off this time, once he sees the glare Harry was sending his way. "I'll shut up now." 

Harry sighs. "Look I don't care what Louis does or who he does. It's not any of my business."

"So you're not at all bothered that your ex-husband is dating again?" 

"Nope." Harry forces a grin on his face, to try to act nonchalant. 

"You look like you want to murder someone," Nick deadpans.

Harry throws a pen at his head as a response. Before Nick could retaliate the door swings open.  

"Sorry to interrupt gentlemen." Penelope comes in. "But I was wondering if I could have a quick chat with you Harry?"

Harry nods his head. "Of course, what's up?" 

"Well me and the others were thinking about adding a new segment to the show and I want your opinion on it."

"That sounds exciting. What's it about?" 

"So it's gonna be called the Kick-off, and it's just gonna be a small segment in the mornings where we bring in some football player or famous person and just discuss popular topics in football."

"That's it?" Harry frowns. "Don't we do that already?" he asks, chuckling. 

"Well it's going to be in a more relaxed environment so the guests are more comfortable," Penelope explains. "We'll have tea or coffee and we were thinking we could play some games or something. We're still working out the details."

Harry was getting intrigued. "Okay, that actually sounds like a nice idea."

"Doesn't it?" Penelope's excitement was contagious. "We're especially excited because of the person we picked to host it."

"Oh yeah? Who's the lucky person?" Harry asks. 

Penelope doesn't say anything for a while, just staring at Harry while biting her bottom lip in anticipation. 

Harry is waiting for her to answer when it finally hits him. "W-Wait me?!"

"Yes!" Penelope claps her hands. "Why do you sound so surprised? Our audience loves you and plus a lot of people in the football world respect you. You're perfect for this!" 

"I-I um." Harry was at a loss of words. "I don't even know what to say."

"I'm hoping you'll say yes," Penelope answers for him. 

"Um can you give me a few days to think about this?" 

Penelope sighs, clearly disappointed by his answer. "I can give you a week, but Harry we really want you in on this. We practically designed this whole segment around you, so please just think about it."

She pats him on the shoulder before she exits the dressing room, leaving Harry with a stunned expression on his face. 

"Well wasn't that quite a surprise," Nick says, looking anything but surprised. 

Harry slouches back in his chair and rubs his hands across his face. "You knew about this didn't you? That's why you were asking me about working back in the studio."

"Harry just listen to me, you would be amazing on this. No one could do it better than you. I'm begging you to say yes," Nick pleads. 

"I said I'll think about it. I need to talk it over with the kids first."

"Fine," Nick huffs and stands up. "I have to make a quick phone call, I'll be right back."

Harry shakes his head and stands up as well. "No it's alright I was just about to leave anyway. I need to make dinner tonight."

"Okay well I'll see you later Harry and the next time we speak you better have accepted the position."

"We'll see." Harry shrugs. 

There was a part of him that was dying to say yes to Penelope and Nick but there was another part of him that was scared. 

It's been a while since he did something just for himself. Most of his decisions in his life revolved around his children and his desire to make them happy. 

When Harry goes home the sun was set low in the sky and the roads were full of people trying to get home. 

It was one of those car rides where you barely remember the ride home because your mind is too preoccupied with other things. 

As soon as Harry parks his car, he gets out, already planning out his long warm shower in his head. 

"Kids, I'm home," Harry announces as he comes in. "What do you lot want for dinner?!" 

Harry waits for an answer but after a few minutes it was still silent. 

"Kids!? Hello!" Harry tries but again there was no answer. 

He was starting to get a little worried until he hears Mila's muffled laugh outside.

Harry looks out the window and finds not only the kids but also Louis sitting down at the picnic table. 

"Um what's going on here?" Harry asks as he walks out.

"Surprise!" Olivia shouts and runs toward him. 

Harry braces for the impact and catches her on instinct. 

"Woah there." Harry settles her down and then feels a tiny tug on his trousers. 

He looks down and sees Mila there holding a single rose in her hand that was slightly wilting because of how hard she was holding it. 

"Rose for papa," Mila babbles, holding the flower up to him. 

Harry leans down to her level and takes the rose from her grip. "Oh wow this is gorgeous darling. Thank you."

"And we made you this as well papa." Beckham comes over with a homemade card in his hands.

Harry takes the card that said, "We're Proud of You!" on the front and opens it:

Dear Papa,

We're so proud of you and everything you accomplished! We can't wait to see you be the host on your new segment! We love you so much!

Love, Liv, Beck, Mila and Louis.

Harry freezes and his stomach drops. 

"H-How did you guys find out?" 

"Dad told us," Olivia answers. 

Harry's eyes snap over to Louis who was now holding a bouquet of roses in his arms.

"How did you know?" Harry asks.

"Um Nick actually called me a few hours ago."

Harry was so going to kill Nick the next time he sees him.

"Wait when did you and Nick start talking to each other?" Harry asks. 

Louis looks sheepishly at him. "Um, after you told me about everything, I went to Nick to apologize. We aren't like friends or anything, but I guess we tolerate eachother now."

"Oh that was nice of you," Harry said, a little shocked at this new piece of information.

"Yeah." Louis nods his head. "So anyway, me and the kids thought it would be a good idea to surprise you and make dinner tonight."  

Louis gestures over to the pizza on the table. You could tell it was homemade because of the not-so perfect circle, but Harry could tell they spent a lot of time on it. 

It had all his favorite toppings: chicken, green peppers and mushrooms. There was even bread sticks and macaroni as their sides. 

"Wait a minute you guys made this?" Harry asks, with a hint of surprise in his voice. 

"Well the kids did. I just supervised," Louis admits.

"Wow this looks incredible. I'm really impressed."

"We just wanted to do something to congratulate you on getting that hosting gig," Beckham said.

"Oh I-" Harry tries to talk, but Louis cuts him off. 

"Also got you these." Louis gives him the bouquet of roses. "Now I know they're not the prettiest of flowers, but to be fair I was on a time limit and these were all I could find. Also Mila might have accidentally ran them over with her toy bike."

He was right. The flowers looked dried and the petals were already wilting off. Some of the stems didn't even have petals at all.

But nonetheless, Harry loved them. 

He looks up with misty eyes at Louis, who was smiling from ear to ear. 

"Guys, I-I didn't take the position yet," Harry quietly admits.

"What?!" they all exclaim at the same time. 

"I asked them to give me a few days to think about it. I didn't want to make a big decision like this without consulting you guys first." Harry gestures toward his kids. 

"Why do you need to consult with us?" Beckham asks. 

"Because I'm going to be away most mornings and I'm also going to be busier than usual."

"So?" Olivia raises an eyebrow. "Me and Beckham are old enough to take care of ourselves and take care of Mila. We want you to take this papa. We all know how much you miss being at the studio." 

"Plus I'm here," Louis adds in. "I'll watch the kids when I can and like Olivia said, they can take care of themselves. There's no need to worry Harry."

Harry bites his lip anxiously, not knowing how to respond to everything. He honestly was still overwhelmed that they made dinner. 

"Papa you have to do this," Beckham stresses. "You've already sacrificed so much for us, it's time for you to do some things for yourself."

Harry looks around at everyone holding their breaths, waiting for him to make his decision. 

"I'll make my decision later," Harry concludes, making everyone groan. "Let's just all eat and relax for a bit yeah?"

Beckham and Olivia look like they want to argue but Harry gives them a stern look, silently telling them not to start. 

"I'll get the plates." Olivia sighs. 

As they're all setting up, Louis comes up behind him. 

"Hey H, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh sure." Harry promptly follows Louis to a secluded spot in their yard, where the kids couldn't hear them. 

"So what's up?" Harry asks, while delicately cradling the roses that were still in his arms. 

There was probably no use in putting them in a vase since they were almost dead, but Harry didn't want to just let them die.

"Why are you hesitating on this?"

Harry sighs, knowing that Louis was going to ask that. "I already told you, it's because-"

"No it's not," Louis interrupts him. "You and I both know our kids are smart and mature enough to take care of themselves. So tell me the real reason why."

Harry glances over at the kids who were happily chatting amongst themselves. "I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Becoming a parent that puts work before their family," he admits.  

Louis is silent for a while, making Harry a little nervous. 

He even jumps a little when he hears Louis let out a sigh. "You don't want to become like me," Louis concludes. 

"N-No Louis that's not what I meant."

"But it's true. I put footie before you guys and you don't want to do the same thing. I get it." 

"Look I just don't want the kids to go through that again," Harry tries to explain. "I saw the disappointment on their faces when they realized you didn't come to a game or recital. I mean I even know what it felt like."

"Harry I'm sorry, I-"

"Hey no, I'm not saying this to make you feel bad," Harry stops him. "I just want you to understand why I'm so apprehensive about this whole thing."

"No I know, it just sucks hearing that I did that to you guys." Louis kicks at the ground with frustration. 

"But hey." Harry gently touches his shoulder, to make him look up at him. "You've changed though and I can tell that you're trying to make up for all that lost time. I know the kids appreciate it a lot."

"Thanks H." Louis gives him a tight-lipped smile. "Also don't worry about any of that. I know you would never do that to our kids." 

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know you. You're the most kindest and selfless person I've ever met. You would do anything for our kids," Louis said genuinely. "Also you have me to keep you in check if you screw up," he said with a cheeky smile. 

Harry doesn't know how to respond to that, so he just pulls Louis in for a hug. 

Louis is caught off guard but eventually melts into his embrace. 

"Thank you Louis," Harry mumbles against his hair. "I'm really glad to have you."

"You'll always have me."

They hug each other for a few more seconds before they both deemed that they were hugging longer than normal divorced couples do. 

Louis and Harry separate, both sporting a blush across their face. 

"Dad! Papa! Come on the pizza is getting cold!" Olivia yells at them from across the yard.

"I swear they sound more like parents than we do." Louis chuckles. 

"I know right." Harry shakes his head, clearly amused. "Well we should head over before they ground us or something."

Louis laughs. "Alright...race you!"

Before Harry can even react, Louis was already taking off with his head thrown back with laughter. 

Harry just stands there, staring dumbly at the childish man. 

When Louis realizes Harry wasn't right behind him, he stops in his tracks.

"Oi Harold! Get your arse over here!" Louis was standing there with his hands on his waist, waiting for Harry to catch up. 

As Louis waits there, there was something familiar about him just standing there watching Harry slowly walk toward him with a bouquet of roses. 

Suddenly, past images of Harry in a white suit and flowers in his hair, flashes behind his eyes. Louis tries to blink the image away, but it was like his mind transported back to the past. 

At that moment, Louis felt like there was no one else except for the man in front of him. 

It's you and me against the world. 

Once Harry reaches him, Louis was so caught up in the memory that he didn't notice that there were tears falling down his cheek.

"Hey." Harry reaches up to wipe the tears away with his thumb.

Louis forces himself to not lean into his touch.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Harry asks, with concern written on his face.

Louis abruptly steps back and wipes away the rest of the tears. "Um it's nothing. Just allergies."

Harry looks at him with doubt. "Are you sure?"

Louis manages to put on a smile. "Yeah I'm more than okay."

And in that moment, he was.

Chapter Text

With everything going on, Louis almost forgot that he was going into retirement. 

The only people who knew at this point were his family and his team. Louis was actually surprised he was able to keep it a secret this long. 

Usually secrets like this get leaked early, but thankfully no one has said anything. Louis would like to announce his retirement on his own terms, so hopefully it'll stay discreet till then. 

It was about 7 am and Louis was surprisingly already awake. 

He was making last minute revisions to his retirement speech, making sure that he wasn't missing anything. Louis wasn't the best at inspirational speeches, but he was impressed with what he came up with.

As Louis proofreads his speech on the computer, he feels like there's something missing, but he can't figure out what, so he sends a copy to Liam for a second opinion. 

Not even 10 minutes later, Louis receives an incoming call from Liam. 

"Louis who did you pay?" Liam asks right away as soon as Louis answers it.

"What?"

"I mean, this speech it's...amazing! There's no way you wrote this."

"Excuse me Liam, I might not have finished school, but I'm not completely hopeless." 

"Wait you seriously wrote this?"

Louis rolls his eyes at Liam's shocked tone. "Yes, Liam."

"Wow, it's beautiful Lou. I mean I almost cried. I didn't know you were so good with words."

"You don't think it's too soppy do you?"

"No, I love it and I'm sure everyone else will too."

"Thanks, I worked hard on it," Louis said with a sense of pride. 

"Well it's good so far. Can't wait to read the rest of it." 

Louis chuckles. "What do you mean? It's done."

It's silent on the other side of the line for a few seconds. 

"Louis...you don't mention Harry in here at all."

It's Louis's turn to be quiet. 

So yeah, maybe he "forgot" to put Harry in there. It was just that Louis didn't know how to introduce Harry in the speech. Calling him his ex-husband felt weird and just saying that he was his friend felt wrong. 

Also with all the public drama between them, Louis didn't think Harry would even want him to mention him in the speech. 

"I-I know."

"You're seriously not going to thank Harry?" Liam asked incredulously. "I understand that you guys are divorced, but you guys have so much history. I mean you guys have a family together for god's sake!" 

"Well what do you suggest I write Liam? Thank you to my ex-husband, Harry Styles, who broke my heart and is the reason for most of my breakdowns?" 

"Lou, I'm not saying that you have to say a whole paragraph, just say a few words to show that you appreciate him." 

Louis takes a deep breath. "I just don't want to say the wrong thing."

"You won't. You would look more like a dick if you didn't say anything at all." 

"I hate it when you're right." Louis groans. "Well I guess I'll have to revise it again." 

"Good but before you do that, you want to take a break and go to the gym with me?" 

"As much as I want to go to the gym at"-Louis looks at the time-"7 in the morning, I actually have a thing that I have to be at."

"What thing?"

"Just divorce counseling," Louis brings it up nonchalantly.

"Ha-ha very funny, as if you would actually do something like that."

"I'm not joking Liam," Louis says seriously. 

Ever since Louis met Harry, he was never able to say no to him. 

Harry was just so damn persuasive and his pouty lips certainly didn't help any, so when Harry asked him again about divorce counseling, Louis couldn't say no. 

"Oh." Liam's voice has a surprised tone to it. "I'm guessing Harry's the one who thought of it."

"Yep."

Liam let's out a breath. "Well have fun with that. I'll see you later Lou."

"Bye Liam."

Louis hangs up the phone and looks at his speech again. 

After just staring at it for a few minutes, he decided that he'll just finish it another time. 

His thoughts were all over the place and he needed a good nap before he goes to this stupid divorce counseling. 

When Louis wakes up, he's woken up by someone shaking him awake. 

Louis groans at the person and flips on his side to try to get a few extra minutes of rest. 

"Louis! Wake up, we're going to be late!"

Louis slowly opens his eyes and turns his body to squint up at Harry. "Late for what?" 

"We have our counseling appointment," Harry reminds him. 

"Fuck." Louis groans again, but this time he stands up. "Okay give me a few minutes to get ready."

Before Louis can take a step, Harry suddenly grabs Louis by the waist and throws him over his shoulder, turning everything upside down. 

Louis let's out a surprised yelp and doesn't move for a whole minute because one, he's surprised Harry can still carry him like this and two, he's a little turned on. 

When Louis comes back to his senses he slaps Harry on his back. 

"Harry Edward Styles! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Louis shouts.

"We're already 10 minutes late and traffic is terrible," Harry explains as he walks out the house with Louis over his shoulder.

"I can't go out looking like this!" Louis was dressed in joggers and a white t-shirt that had a beer stain on the front. 

"You look fine, stop being a drama queen."

Louis grumbles some other words that Harry isn't able to hear. 

The position Louis was in, was really not ideal. He was practically eye level to Harry's ass and Harry's hands were gripping his thighs to keep him from falling.

It also didn't help that his groin was pushing up against Harry every time he took a step. 

"Harry I can walk by myself." Louis really needed to get down before he pops a boner right on Harry's shoulder. 

"Well I think it's more fun this way," Harry said smiling, clearly enjoying this way too much. 

Louis's face was blood red now from how turned on he was and the fact that he was upside down didn't help.

He feels Harry's hand come dangerously close to his ass and yep, Louis needed to get off right now. 

Louis looks down at Harry's bum and gets an idea. "Have you been doing squats?" he said with a mischievous grin.

"W-What?" Harry stutters.

"It's just your bum is looking quite...plump." Louis smirks when he hears Harry's breath hitch. "I mean it's not as big as mine of course, but it's definitely gotten bigger since the last time I remember."

Harry abruptly stops in his tracks and drops Louis to his feet.

"Shut up," Harry grumbles as he walks away.

Louis stands there smugly, watching Harry walk away. 

His bum was looking quite good to be fair. Louis wonders if he's actually been doing squats or if it's just the tight jeans he was wearing. 

"Stop looking at my arse and come on!" Harry yells at him without even looking back. 

Louis stands there and laughs. 

"Oh and I felt your semi, so you better take care of that before we go!" Harry shouts back. 

Louis stops laughing. 

Even though Louis has been reluctant about this whole thing, he was secretly interested on what this therapist will do to help him and Harry fix their problems and hopefully move on. 

Because of this newfound, positive mentality, Louis went in with an open-mind, but it's an hour into the session and Louis still hasn't said a word. 

It wasn't like Louis was purposefully not participating, it was just that the therapist that they came to see, Dr. Reed, has been blatantly flirting with Harry since they got there. 

Even Harry seemed uncomfortable by his advances, but he's too nice to say anything. 

Dr. Reed was a handsome guy, but Louis could tell from just staring at him that he was a boring middle-aged man who probably was spoiled as a kid and got anything he wanted. 

"So Harry tell me, what things did Louis do that made you upset or angry?" Dr. Reed asks. 

Louis keeps himself from rolling his eyes. This has what the appointment has been like; just Dr. Reed focusing on Harry and trying to make him say negative things about Louis. 

Harry sighs, which would seem casual to any random person, but Louis could see the irritation on his face. 

"I guess at times it seemed like Louis was more invested in football than our family, but like I said, he's not like that-" 

"Well that's just terrible," Dr. Reed cuts him off. "I don't know how he could possibly do that with you being his husband, I mean look at you, you're gorgeous." 

Louis nearly leaps off the sofa, but he feels Harry's foot nudge his leg, silently giving him a warning. 

"I'm right here you know," Louis grumbles instead, not wanting to start anything. 

Dr. Reed gives a quick glance in his direction, but snaps his gaze right back to Harry. "Anyway Harry what-"

"Actually, how about we start including Louis into this. I'm sure he has a lot to say." Harry gestures over to a silent Louis.

Dr. Reed looks disappointed, but ultimately redirects his attention. He plasters on a fake smile that Louis can see right through. 

"I'm sorry if I was ignoring you Mr. Tomlinson, is there anything you would like to talk about?" Dr. Reed asks, acting as if he actually cared what Louis had to say. 

Louis crosses his arms in front of him. "Actually I have nothing to say."

"That's a first." Harry snorts.

Louis glares at him. "Look I really don't think you want to know what I have to say."

"Amuse me," Dr. Reed encourages him. 

"Alright, you want to know what I'm thinking? This whole thing is bullshit. I should have never agreed to this." 

"Then why are you here?" Dr. Reed asks. 

"Because I thought we were working with a professional," Louis said sharply.

Dr. Reed has the nerve to look taken aback by Louis's response. "I assure you Mr. Tomlinson, I am a professional." He gestures over to his wall full of plaques and certificates like it meant something. 

"Oh yeah? So is flirting with Harry part of your method?" Louis at this point was fed up with this guy. 

"What?" Dr. Reed scoffs, acting like he doesn't know what Louis's talking about. "I was just trying to be polite."

"I don't think so mate," Louis scoffs.

"Oh come on." Dr. Reed rolls his eyes. "Harry, you know I didn't mean anything by it, right?" he asks, innocently. 

Louis almost loses it when he sees Dr. Reed lay his hand on top of Harry's thigh. 

But before he can do anything, Harry gets up himself, removing Dr. Reed's hand in the process.

"Actually I think we'll be leaving now," Harry says calmly as he collects his jacket. 

Louis quickly gets up as well, following Harry's lead. 

"Oh, but our session is not over yet," Dr. Reed interjects.

"Well, I'm ending it early," Harry said, his face expressionless. "Also we will not be coming back. Like Louis said, we thought we were working with a professional, but clearly we were misled. I find it very disturbing that you were more focused on getting into my pants instead of trying to help us with our problems."

Louis wished he had his phone out to take a picture of the shock on Dr. Reed's face. 

It's very rare for Harry to get mad but when he is, he's someone you don't wanna mess with. Louis should know since he's been the main reason for some of Harry's worse outbursts. 

"I-I can promise you Mr. Styles, I did not mean-" Dr. Reed stutters. 

 "No," Harry's deep voice echoes through the room. "You disrespected me and Mr. Tomlinson. Have a nice time getting any more clients after this."

Harry promptly leaves out the door and Louis just stares after him in awe. 

"He's a bit much, isn't he?" Dr. Reed comments, clearly flustered at the turn of events.

"Yeah he's a lot," Louis agrees. "But that's what I love most about him. Thanks for the help doc." Louis shoots him a cheeky wink, before slamming the door close behind him. 

Louis exits the building, and finds Harry leaning against the car waiting for him. 

"I think that went well," Louis said. 

Harry snorts. "I was so close to kneeing him in the balls."

"Don't worry, I think you scared him so much he peed his pants." Louis chuckles. 

Harry tucks his chin to his chest. "Looks like you were right. Therapy maybe isn't what we need."

"We could always find a new therapist," Louis suggests. "That guy was a dick, but there has to be someone else who is willing to help us."

"No that's alright." Harry shakes his head. "I think we're better off just helping ourselves. There's no use in bringing back old painful memories."

Louis frowns. "Are you sure? You were really adamant about this whole thing."

"I know, but it's not just about me. It's about both of us," Harry emphasizes. "I know you just agreed to go because I wanted it."

"Well you know what they say, happy ex-husband, happy life."

"I don't think that's how it goes." Harry chuckles. "But seriously I don't want you to keep saying yes to me just because it'll make me happy. I want your input on things too."

Louis suddenly gets really quiet.

The whole reason he signed those divorce papers was to make Harry happy. 

Now he wonders what would have happened if he actually fought for their marriage, instead of just letting it go. 

Maybe him and Harry would have fixed things. Maybe they wouldn't have gotten a divorce. Maybe they would have had the future they always wanted.

But at the end of the day, they'll never really know what would have happened, and that's what makes Louis sick to his stomach. 

"Louis?" Harry's voice shakes him out of his thoughts. 

"Oh uh sorry." Louis looks up at him. "Did you say something?"

"Are you alright?" 

"Yeah." Louis manages a smile. "I just got lost in my head for a minute."

Harry looks at him with doubt, but decides to move on. "Okay well, I just asked if you wanted to get lunch somewhere?"

"Yeah that sounds good." Louis nods his head and gets into the car.

----------

Harry read the speech.

He didn't mean to, but it was literally right there, opened up on the laptop, when he went to wake Louis up to go to that horrible counseling appointment. 

Harry sat there just staring at the screen for a few minutes before deciding to just read the damn thing. He knew Louis wanted it to be a surprise, but he couldn't help himself. 

The speech was fairly short, but it was beautifully written, which didn't surprise Harry.

Louis always had a lovely way with words, it was like his secret gift that he rarely shared with others.

It had some of Louis's sarcastic humor thrown in there, but there was also some emotional parts that even made Harry tear up. 

As beautiful and emotional as the speech was, Harry couldn't help but notice that Louis didn't mention him at all. 

He wasn't expecting Louis to say much about him, but he was at least expecting some sort of acknowledgement.

Harry likes to think that their relationship has really improved these past weeks, some could say they were actually friends, but maybe it wasn't the same for Louis. 

Even though Harry was a little upset, he wasn't going to confront Louis about it. This was his retirement speech after all and Harry didn't want to interfere with that.

All of this was going through Harry's head as he was currently closing out his first ever segment on Sky Sports. 

"I just want to say another huge thank you to, Niall Horan, for being my first ever guest on the Kick-Off. It was a pleasure having you Niall."

"Thanks for having me H." Niall smiles at him, warmly. 

"You're always welcome here." Harry reciprocates the smile, before facing the camera to sign off the air. "Okay, well that ends the first ever segment of the Kick-Off. Thank you for joining us and I hope you all enjoyed. This was Harry Styles and I'll see you tomorrow!" 

The producer calls for commercial and then with a press of a button, they're off the air. 

"Harry!" Niall shouts, right next to him. "You did fucking amazing!"

Niall jumps out of his chair to give him a hug. 

Harry easily accepts the embrace and can't help the huge smile that takes over his face.

Before they went on air, Harry was almost certain he was going to faint because of how nervous he was, but thankfully Niall calmed him down a bit and got him focused.

The segment went perfectly and Harry felt so confident during the whole thing. 

"Thank you Niall, for everything. You really saved me back there."

"No you saved yourself mate. I just gave you that extra push." Niall demonstrates a pushing motion. "You did amazing, I mean I don't think I have ever had a better interview than that."

Harry involuntarily blushes. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not! Seriously Harry, you should have been a host years ago, you're a natural." 

"Well thank you," Harry says, still sporting a blush. "I just hope the rest of the world thinks so."

At that exact time, Penelope comes over with a beaming smile on her face. 

"Oh they do, our views went up significantly just from your segment, Harry," Penelope informs him. "I told you people would love you." 

Harry shakes his head in disbelief. He didn't think people would care or be interested, but looks like he was wrong. 

"Look you're trending on twitter!" Niall shows him the twitter trending page on his phone and sure enough #TheKickOff was trending at number 3 in the UK.

"Yeah and looks like the majority of people really enjoyed it," Penelope chimes in as she's looking at her own phone. 

"I think they're enjoying it way too much." Niall snorts. "Look this guy just tweeted that he doesn't know anything about soccer, but he's willing to watch the show just so he could get a look at the, 'sexy tall man with the dimples'," Niall reads the tweet aloud. 

Harry crinkles his nose. 

"Holy shit," Penelope says suddenly. 

"I know right, people on twitter are so thirsty." Niall laughs. 

"What? No, look at what's trending number 1," Penelope tells them. 

Niall and Harry huddle around the phone to see what she's talking about.

"Wait, why is Louis trending?" Harry asks as soon as he sees it, while Niall is already clicking on it. 

The first thing that pops up is a tweet from Louis, posted just a few minutes ago. 

Louis Tomlinson @Louis_Tomlinson

@HarryStyles is a fantastic host isn't he? Can't wait to spend all my mornings watching the #TheKickOff since I'm going to have a lot of free time next year. 

"Well shit." Harry eyes widen. 

It was a vague tweet, but it was just enough for people to start talking.

The media has been speculating when Louis would retire, but Louis would never give them a straight answer and brushed off the questions.

This tweet, has been the closest thing he's done that suggests that he's going into retirement, which would explain the internet's frenzy. 

"Did he really just tweet that?" Niall asks in disbelief. 

"Well are you surprised? This is Louis we're talking about." Harry just sits back in his chair and sighs. "He always knew how to stir things up." 

"What does he mean that he's going to have a lot of free time? Is he retiring?!" Penelope asks, making both boys suddenly realize she was still there. 

Harry silently shrugs his shoulders as a response.

"Oh, come on Harry, give us some insider information!" Penelope practically begs. 

"It's not my story to tell," Harry said apologetically, "I'm sorry."

Even though Louis was his ex-husband he would never betray him just for a good story.  

"Fine," Penelope huffs. "Be that way, but they just announced that Louis's doing a press conference tomorrow and you'll be the one covering that."

Harry just nods his head. "Okay."

Work or not, Harry was already planning on going anyway. 

"Awesome." Penelope smiles before she quickly turns around to shout at her production crew. "Tomlinson's tweet was posted 10 minutes ago! Can someone please tell me why we're just finding out about it now?!"

Penelope walks off to yell at more people.

"She's a bit scary," Niall comments. "Is she single?"

Harry glares at him. "Leave my producer alone Niall."

"I was just asking." Niall shrugs. "Anyway I really admire what you said back there."

"Admire what?" 

"That you don't sell out Louis, even after all this time."

"Well yeah," Harry said it as if it was obvious. "I'll never take advantage of him like that, or you or Liam for that matter."

Niall smiles at the man in front of him. "You're a good guy Styles."

"I know."

Niall stretches his arms and then receives a text from his phone. 

"Oh hey you want to come get lunch with the boys? They just texted me," Niall asks.

"Sure," Harry easily agrees, since he has no plans today. "Who's all going?"

"Just me, Liam, Louis and Lucas."

"L-Lucas?" Harry stutters like he can't even say the name. 

"Yeah." Niall eyes him down. "Is that a problem?"

Harry quickly shakes his head. "No, of course not. I just haven't properly met him yet."

"He's a good guy. A little empty in the head at times, but he's fun to be around with."

"Alright." Harry takes a deep breath. "So where are we going?" 

"You drove right? You can just follow me."

This makes Harry hesitate. "Niall have you seen yourself drive? You drive like you're in a NASCAR race."

"I do not," Niall said offended. "I'm a model driver. I passed my drivers test with flying colors."

"Yeah well that was before you had your Aston Martin."

"Look I'll drive slow for you, now come on, they're already there!" Niall walks away, making Harry to catch up. 

There was a part of Harry that really didn't want to go, but there was another part of him that was curious. 

Harry wanted to know how he would react to seeing Louis with another guy.

He needed to know if he was able to control himself, because later down the road there will be instances like this and Harry needs to get used to seeing Louis with other men, no matter how awful it might feel. 

Harry wasn't even there yet, but he already had an unsettling feeling about this. 

They thankfully get to the place safe and sound, but Harry had to blow through 3 red lights just to keep up with Niall. He was almost sure that he was going to get a ticket.

"You call that slow?!" Harry asks, with his cheeks a little flushed from the stressful drive.

"Oh, come on I wasn't driving that fast." Niall pats the hood of his car. 

Harry rolls his eyes and looks up at where Niall brought him. "Um Niall, where did you bring me?"

Harry wearily looks over at the run-down brick building. There was graffiti everywhere and the windows were grimy with dirt and dust. The trash bin outside was full to the brim and spilling onto the sidewalk. There was even a small rat that was rummaging through the trash, making Harry squirm. 

Now Harry's usually not picky when it comes to where he ate, but he did care about how sanitary and safe the place was. 

"This is the pub me, Liam and Louis always come to."

"A pub?" Harry looks down at his watch. "You do realize that it's only 10 am right?" 

"Don't worry, they have food here. Richard, the owner, makes amazing fish and chips," Niall said reassuringly. 

Harry decides to take Niall for his word and walks into the pub right behind him.

As soon as they walk in, the inside was thankfully not as bad as it looked on the outside. It was your usual pub, nothing fancy about it, but Harry really liked it.  

There was an old vintage vibe that Harry really appreciated and now wonders why he hasn't been here before. 

There weren't much people there, just a few individuals at the bar, minding their own business. 

Harry scans the rest of the room and immediately spots Louis and them at a table in the corner. 

Liam turns his head toward them and smiles so big that Harry can see all his teeth from where he was. 

"Is that Harry Styles, the host of the new show, The Kick-Off, on Sky Sports?" Liam shouts proudly.

Harry walks over to them and greets Liam his a hug. "Good to see you mate."

"I watched you on the telly this morning! You were fantastic!" 

Harry blushes, he's been doing that a lot today. "Thanks Liam, I'm glad you liked it." 

"No problem lad. If I knew you were coming, we would have brought a cake or something to celebrate."

"That's alright and sorry for coming unannounced. Niall invited me last minute, I hope that's okay?" Harry finally glances over to Louis who was wearing an expression, he couldn't decipher. 

"Of course," Liam reassures him. "It's been forever since you went out with us. Come on, pull up a chair."

Harry grabs a nearby chair and places it at the only empty space which was between Louis and Niall. 

"You guys keep adding new people to your group, don't you?" An older gentleman starts to walk up to their table. 

Harry assumes that this was Richard and watches him as he slowly makes his way over to them.

"Hello, I'm Harry Sty-"

"Styles," Richard finishes for him. "I'm Richard, the owner of this dump."

Harry smiles at the old man. "I wouldn't call it a dump. It's actually very charming in here."

"Alright I like you already, you can stay." Richard reciprocates the smile. 

Harry feels a sense of satisfaction from that. "So, how do you know who I am?" he asks. 

"Besides this idiot yelling your name throughout my whole pub." Richard points over at Liam. "The boys talk about you quite often, specifically Louis."

"Oh really?" Harry looks over at Louis was too busy stuffing his face with chips. "Hopefully only good things."

"Eh." Richard shrugs his shoulder, making Harry look at him questioningly. "Well I mean you did divorce him, so of course he might have said some not very nice things about you."

"I'll have you know, I haven't said one bad thing about Harry in weeks!" Louis defends himself, finally getting into the conversation. 

"Yeah, yeah." Richard waves him off. "Now all he's been doing is pining-"

"Richard!" Louis abruptly cuts in. "Why don't you let Harry try some of your fish and chips?" 

"Oh sure." Richard smirks at him. "I'll be right back with your food lad." He winks at Harry before he leaves. 

Harry doesn't think much of what happened because he has bigger things to worry about, like meeting the man he's been dreading to meet since he got here. 

Lucas was just sitting there silently, sipping his drink while everyone else was talking. 

He was definitely very young. There were no frown lines or wrinkles in his skin and his hair was a dirty blonde color with no traces of grey hair. 

Harry started to feel a little self-conscious in his own skin because of how pretty this guy was. 

Taking a deep breath, Harry leans forward to greet the younger man. 

"Um hi, you must be Lucas. It's nice to meet you." Harry manages to paste a friendly smile on his face while sticking his hand out. 

Lucas promptly shakes his hand. "It's nice to meet you too! I'm a big fan Mr. Styles."

Harry almost scoffs, he might be older than him, but he's not that old. 

"Please, just call me Harry."

"Okay Harry." Lucas smiles at him, and Harry can't tell if it's fake or not. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your hosting gig. I think you did a great job."

Harry curses inside his head. He was expecting Lucas to be a dick or something, but so far he seemed like a decent guy. 

"Hey how about me? I was the best first guest!" Niall chimes in. 

"Why do you insist that everything revolves around you?" Liam rolls his eyes. 

"You're just grumpy because Harry didn't ask you to be his first guest!" Niall claps back. 

"No, I'm not," Liam said unconvincingly.

"I just want to point out that I have no say on who my guests are," Harry adds in, before he's gets dragged into their petty arguing. 

"See! Harry had no choice, meaning that he would have picked someone else," Liam retorts. 

"Uh no, that's not exactly what I-" Harry gets cut off by Niall. 

"He didn't say that! Stop putting words in his mouth!" 

Harry watches on, amused, as his two friends argue back and forth. 

He missed this, just going out and making memories; that's what they did best.

"Hey." Louis nudges Harry with his elbow. "Congratulations on today. You were amazing."

"Yeah?" Harry asked, with a glint in his eye. 

Louis clears his throat. "Yeah, me and the kids watched it together and they loved it as well. I swear all of England is going to fall in love with you."

"I hope not. I'm already getting tons of dms from random guys asking for a nude pic," Harry said jokingly, but Louis missed his intention. 

"What? What guys?" Louis said with a frown. 

Harry almost laugh's at the disgruntled look on Louis's face. "I'm joking Lou."

Louis's face starts to turn pink so he looks away. "Oh yeah of course."

Harry is about to tease him some more, but Lucas interrupts before he gets the chance to. 

"Hey Louis, I'm going to the toilets."

"Alright." Louis quickly glances over to him, before turning his attention back to Harry. 

Lucas stands up, but he doesn't move, staring at Louis expectantly. 

When Louis doesn't acknowledge him, Lucas bends down to whisper something in his ear. 

Harry felt like he was intruding on something, so he looks away. He tries to ignore the burning sensation building in his stomach. 

"But I don't need to use the toilet," Louis says aloud, making Lucas blush profusely. 

Lucas mutters out a "never mind" and scurries into the bathroom. 

Once Lucas was gone, Harry can't help the laughter that comes out. 

Louis looks at him with confusion. "What's so funny?"

"Y-You are so fucking thick sometimes," Harry says between laughs. 

"Excuse me?" Louis frowns, but it turns into more of a pout. 

Harry finally manages to stop laughing. "Lucas wanted you to go to the toilets with him, right?"

"Yeah and I said that I didn't have to go. What's so funny about that?"

Harry just shakes his head. This man was so clueless. 

"Mate he probably wanted to shag," Niall fills it in for him, before turning back to his conversation with Liam.

Louis was still confused for a moment before he suddenly gets it and his eyes widen comically. 

"Oh."

"Yeah." Harry awkwardly shifts in his chair.

Louis clears his throat. "I mean aren't I little too old to be fooling around in the toilets?"

Harry chuckles. "Sure, but Lucas isn't"

Louis ponders on what Harry says for a few seconds. "I guess you're right."

There's an awkward tension surrounding them now, so Harry changes the subject.

"We saw your tweet earlier," Harry tells him. "Thanks for the promo by the way."

"No problem, just wanted the world to know how great your were."

Harry tries his hardest not to get effected by his words and redirects the conversation back to the tweet. "And you hinted on retirement huh? That was a pretty huge deal." 

"Oh yeah. My agent thought it would be a good idea to get people talking before the presser tomorrow."

"Well it worked. You were trending number one."

"Yeah, sorry if I stole your thunder. I didn't know it would gain that much attention."

Harry just waves him off. "Don't worry about it. Penelope actually told me that the network's views were at an all-time high."

"That's awesome Harry." Louis smiles proudly. "Look at us taking over the world." 

It's you and me against the world.

Those words were on the tip of Harry's tongue, but he doesn't dare say it out loud.

Even if he wanted to, he couldn't because Lucas comes back and he decides to take a seat directly on Louis's lap. 

"Oh hey," Louis said surprised, wrapping his arms around Lucas's waist so he doesn't fall. 

"Hi." Lucas leans down and pecks Louis on the lips. 

Harry decides that's enough for him and turns his whole body around.

He thought he could do this. He thought that he would be able to watch Louis with other men, but he didn't think that it would hurt this much. 

Niall must have noticed his discomfort because he throws an arm around him. "Hey, you alright?" 

Harry nods his head. "Yeah."

Niall looks over at Louis and Lucas and sighs. "He's nothing compared to you, you know."

"It's okay Niall." Harry smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Um, I'm just going to head over to the bar and get some water. I'll be right back."

Niall takes off his arm from Harry's shoulder, letting him get up. 

As Harry gets to the bar, he sits on one of the bar stools and waits for someone to serve him. 

Harry decides to distract himself by looking around the place. On the wall was a small picture frame of Richard and some woman, he assumes is his wife. 

They looked really happy together. Richard's arm was around her, and they were smiling from ear to ear. It looked like they were at a beach somewhere, with the sun beaming down on them and the distant waves crashing onto the sand in the background. 

"That was our second honeymoon," Richard says as he comes out from the back with a plate of fish and chips in his hands. "She wanted to go to Jamaica."

Richard places the plate down in front of Harry.

Harry immediately takes a chip and plops it into his mouth, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. 

"You said your second honeymoon?"

"We had gotten a divorce a little while ago," Richard explains to him. "But I guess we couldn't stay away from each other." He holds up his wedding ring, proudly.

Harry unconsciously rubs his left thumb on his left ring finger. 

"That's wonderful that you two found your way back to one another." Harry smiles fondly. He always was a sucker for  romance. 

Harry looks back over his shoulder and finds that Lucas was still sitting on Louis's lap. He watches Lucas say something to Louis that makes him throw his head back in laughter. 

"He misses you too, you know," Richard tells him when he notices the longing look on his face.

Harry clenches his jaw. "It doesn't look like it."

"Oh don't worry, that won't last long." Richard points at the couple. 

Harry arches his eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

"Lucas is not the one for Louis," Richard said with confidence. 

"Too young?"

"No. He's not you."

Harry is taken aback by his answer. "No offense Richard, but you barely know me."

"You're right, I don't know you, but I know Louis and most of our conversations are centered around you."

Harry scoffs. "Oh you mean when he's saying, 'not very nice things' about me?" Harry quotes him. 

"I can see why Louis picked you. You compliment his banter quite well." Richard shakes his head while chuckling. "But what I'm trying to say is that no matter if he was angry or upset, we always talked about you. You were the first person on his mind, hell you probably still are to be fair."

Harry doesn't try to think too much of that because right now Louis's mind looks to be on someone else. 

Richard notices Harry's apprehension and tries to reassure him.

"Hey." Richard waves his hand in front of Harry's face, "I just want to say that Louis was barely giving that bloke any attention before you showed up."

Harry has a hard time believing that, since they are literally on top of each other right now. 

"You still love him, don't you?" Richard asks suddenly. 

Harry doesn't even flinch at the question. "It's that obvious, is it?"

"Not really, I'm just observant and I've been in your shoes before."

Harry sighs. "Well even if I am, there's nothing I can do. Louis's already made up his mind."

"He's just scared and confused, give him time to figure everything out."

"Even if in the process he's shattering my heart?" Harry looks up. 

Richard shoots him a sad smile. "Sometimes we have to go through a little pain, to get the things we really want in life. Just be patient."

Harry can be patient, but's it's hard to be patient when the love of your life is cuddling with someone else. 

Harry's throat was getting dry and he suddenly remembers why he came to the bar in the first place. "Oh Richard, can I get a glass of water please?" 

"Sure." Richard grabs a glass but instead of filling it with water, he fills it with beer. 

"I asked for a water," Harry points out, as Richard puts the glass in front of him. 

"Yeah I know." Richard turns away from him. "This one is on me." As soon as he says that he walks into the back. 

Now, Harry understood why the boys came here. 

Harry stays at the bar, sipping his beer and quietly eating his food, trying to ignore the laughing that was going on behind him.

Even though he came here to have a good time with the boys, he couldn't stand seeing Louis and Lucas together like this. 

As Harry is pitying himself, he hears someone come up behind him. 

"Hey." Louis greets him with a smile. "You're having a beer this early?"

"Richard gave it to me for free. I can't just turn down free beer right?" Harry reasons.

Louis grins. "Damn right."

Harry munches on his food, while Louis stands there looking down at the counter, not knowing what else to say. 

You can feel all the unspoken words between the two men, but neither one wanted to come out and say it out loud. 

Finally after a few more minutes of silence Louis clears his throat. "Um so what were you and Richard talking about?"

"We were just talking." Harry shrugs his shoulders, "Also I can't believe you haven't introduced me to him before. He gives great advice."

Even though Harry just met Richard, there was this warmth to him that reminded him of his own granddad. 

"Well I knew that if you met him then you would have charmed the pants off of him, and I can't have that happening because I'm his favorite."

Harry's nose crinkles with fondness. "So selfish Lou. We could always share him?"

"Absolutely not. Richard is like my own personal therapist. You could always have Dr. Reed."

"Yeah no thanks, I rather talk to a rock."

Louis laughs, and Harry didn't want to admit it, but it felt good to be the cause of it. 

"Oh shit, I just remembered." Louis takes out his phone and scrolls through it, looking for something. 

When he finally found what he was looking for, he turns the screen so Harry could see.

"I took it this morning while we were watching, isn't she cute?" Louis tells him.

It was a picture of Mila still in her pajamas, sitting on the ground, smiling with her tiny teeth on display as she watches Harry on the TV screen. 

Harry smiles so wide, his cheeks hurt. "You have to send me that."

"I will," Louis promises.

Harry is too busy fonding over the picture that he doesn't notice Lucas walking up behind them.

Lucas leans into Louis, resting his head on shoulder.

"Oh, that's so adorable!" Lucas coos, as he catches a glimpse at the picture.

Harry had the sudden urge to snatch the phone away and hide the picture away from him. 

Louis instinctively puts his arm around Lucas and rubs his back. "I know, she takes after me after all."

Harry snorts and gulps down the rest of his beer.

Lucas nods sleepily and let's out a yawn.

"You tired?" Louis asks.

"Just a little, I'm still tired from yesterday's practice. You ready to go?"

"Uh yeah, just let me go to the toilet real quick." Louis excuses himself before leaving them alone.

Harry awkwardly eats the rest of his food, trying to ignore the man next to him. 

"Now, he has to go to the toilets." Lucas scoffs, breaking the silence. "Is he always this thick?"

When Harry realizes Lucas was talking to him, he turns toward him. "Um sometimes yeah."

As soon as Harry says this, he turns right back to his food and another wave of silence washes over them. 

Lucas starts to tap his fingertips against the counter, showing his impatience.

"You don't like me do you?" Lucas asks suddenly. 

Harry almost chokes. "W-What?"

"It's kind of obvious." Lucas chuckles. "I mean it makes sense. I'm with Louis now, who is your ex-husband, so of course there's going to be some resentment there. I just hope one day we can be friends?" Lucas smiles hopefully at him.

Harry resists rolling his eyes at the naive younger man. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why in the world would I want to be friends with you?"

Lucas doesn't even flinch at the question, keeping his sickening sweet smile on his face.

"It's just, I'm eventually going to meet your kids, so it would make it a lot easier if we got along you know?"

Harry's eyes were wide the whole time Lucas was speaking. 

"Meet my kids?" Harry quirks an eyebrow. "I don't think so mate."

Lucas's smile falters a little bit. "I'm sorry if I upset you Harry, but be realistic here. If things get serious with me and Louis, then I would like to have a relationship with your kids too. Maybe even one day I'll be part of the family."

Harry's jaw clenches and he grinds his teeth together. "You sound really sure of yourself."

"Well yeah, I mean Louis and I have been getting quite close lately," Lucas said in a smug tone. 

Harry wants to laugh, because of how ridiculous this conversation was.

Harry is in his mid 30's, he has no time for petty arguing or fighting over Louis with a guy like Lucas. 

"Look Lucas," Harry said in a condescending tone. "I'm not going to argue with you, so I would appreciate it if you just left me the hell alone."

Harry was shocked at his own behavior. He hates when he gets like this, but hearing Lucas talk about potentially joining their family, struck a nerve. 

He briefly wonders if this is what Louis felt like with Nick. 

Lucas's smile has finally faded away and is replaced with a scowl. "You still have feelings for him, don't you?"

Harry glares at the man. "Excuse me?"

"You still have feelings for Louis right? I mean I don't blame you, he's a great guy."

"Don't talk to me like you know me," Harry snarls.

Lucas just ignores him and looks down at his nails.  "You should really move on. I mean he clearly has."

Something right there and then, made something snap inside of Harry. Every emotion he's been trying to keep in since he walked into the pub was finally seeping out. 

Harry decides that he had enough for today and stands up without saying a word and leaves.

He hears Liam and Niall call out his name, but he was already out the door and into his car. 

As soon as Harry was safe in his car, he plops his forehead against his steering wheel. 

He's been keeping back tears this whole time, so now he just let's them fall since no one was there to see him anyway. 

This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Harry is startled when he hears someone knocking on his window. 

He quickly wipes his tears away, even though he's pretty sure his eyes were already red.

When Harry turns around, he's face to face with Louis, who has concern written all over his face.

Harry rolls down the window, hoping that he didn't look as bad as he thinks.

"Hey, are you okay?" Louis asks. 

"Yeah." Harry manages a smile. "Sorry I didn't say bye, I just remembered that I have last minute work to do."

Louis studies him closely. "Have you been crying?"

"What? No." Harry pretends he doesn't know what he's talking about. 

"Harry I'm not dumb." Louis stares at him, "What happened?"

Harry sniffles, knowing his charade was over. "It's nothing Louis."

"Harry please I just want to-"

"Louis!" Lucas yells from across the parking lot. "Is everything okay?" 

Louis sighs, briefly turning around. "Yeah, just give me a minute!"

By the time Louis turns back around, Harry's window was already rolled up and he's pulling out from the parking space. 

Harry blinks away his tears in his eyes as he drives off and pretends he doesn't hear Louis calling out his name. 

----------

It's hours later, and Harry is laid down in his bed, wrapped up in his fluffiest blanket. 

As soon as he got home, he told his kids that he wasn't feeling well, so he was just going to stay in bed all day. 

Of course, his kids were concerned and wanted to take care of him, but Harry just waved them off saying he just needed to sleep it off. 

Now it's night and Harry has been binge watching marvel movies. Liam kind of got him hooked and now he was invested in it. 

He was halfway done with Ant-Man when there's a knock at his door. 

Harry stays quiet, hoping that whoever was on the other side thinks he's sleeping. 

There's another knock, but again Harry ignores it. 

"Harry, I know you're not sleeping," Louis's voice comes through. "I hear the TV on."

Harry sighs. Louis was the last person he wanted to see right now. "What do you want Louis?"

"Can I come in?"

"No," Harry promptly answers him.

Louis is half tempted to knock the door down himself, but he just settles on leaning against it. 

"Fine, I'll just sit here then." Louis slides down against the door, until his butt touches the floor. 

Harry tries to ignore the fact that Louis was right outside, but that was hard since Louis kept on banging his head against the door. 

"Louis! Can you just stop?!"

"Let me in and I will!"

Harry groans, getting up and swinging the door open, making Louis fall back. 

"Fucking hell! A warning would have been nice!" Louis rubs the back of his head.  

Harry looks down at him. "I let you in, now what do you want?"

Louis ignores him and stands up, making his way over to Harry's bed. 

"Louis what are you doing?" Harry watches as Louis lays down on the bed and pulls the covers over himself. 

"Lying down," Louis said as if it was obvious. "So, what are we watching?" Louis cuddles into the pillows, making himself comfortable. 

"We are not watching anything. Get the fuck out of my room."

"No," Louis says stubbornly. 

Harry feels like ripping his hair out. "Why are you so annoying sometimes?! Can't you see that I just want to be alone?!"

Louis just stares at him with a straight face. "Tell me why you were crying?"

"No."

"Alright well, I'm not leaving."

Harry considers just sleeping in the living room, but his back would kill him if he slept on the couch, and he has a feeling that wherever he went Louis was just going to follow him. 

"I'm watching Ant-Man," Harry mutters, silently admitting defeat. 

"Awesome, I love Paul Rudd." Louis smiles happily. 

Harry just glares down at him, clearly not as happy.

"Oh come on, stop your brooding and relax." Louis pats the empty spot next to him. 

Harry begrudgingly gets into bed, but skips getting under the covers with Louis. 

They sit silently for a few minutes, just watching the movie. An occasional chuckle was made here and there, but that was it. 

It was getting to the end of the movie, and both men still haven't said a word. 

Harry quickly glances over at Louis, who seemed to be totally engrossed in the movie. 

"Louis, what are you doing here?" Harry finally asks. 

Louis's eyes leave the screen and directs them at Harry. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed really upset earlier, so I just wanted to check up on you."

"Well I'm fine," Harry sighs. 

Louis doesn't believe him. "Clearly."

Harry looks away. "Why aren't you with Lucas?" He tries to bring it up casually, picking at a loose thread on his duvet. 

Harry can feel the intense stare Louis was giving him and refuses to meet his gaze.

"I just dropped him off back at his place." Louis pauses for a few seconds before continuing. "I um...actually ended things with him."

Harry's eyes snap back up at him. "What? Why?"

Louis just shrugs, acting as if it wasn't a big deal. "We're clearly on different paths in our lives and it wasn't working out. Also Liam and Niall told me that he saw you and him having a tense conversation at the bar."

Harry clenches his fists, just at the memory. "Did they they tell you what it was about?"

"No, they were too far away to hear anything, so I asked Lucas about it and he flat out denied it even happened."

That doesn't surprise Harry at all. "He was lying," Harry says quietly, pointing out the obvious.

Louis nods his head. "Yeah I know. I'll trust the words of my best mates before a guy like that any day."

Harry tries to calm down his beating heart. "So um how did he take it?" 

"Not that good." Louis laughs humorlessly, "He...slapped me."

Harry's eyes widen and he's suddenly cupping Louis's face with his hands.

"He did what?!" Harry exclaims as he examines his face to see any marks or bruises. "Are you okay?"

Louis gently takes Harry's hands of of him and cradles them in his lap. "I'm fine. It didn't even hurt."

"That fucking bastard. I'm going to kill him," Harry practically growls. 

"No you're not." Louis tries to calm him down.

"Louis, he hit you! He can't get away with that!" Harry was vibrating with anger. 

Louis smiles at him with a sense of fondness, and rubs his thumb against Harry's knuckles. "Hey look it's over now. He's in the past."

"Thank god," Harry mutters. "This is probably going to make football practices awkward huh?"  

"Yeah, this is why I never date teammates."

Harry nods in understanding and then is suddenly aware that Louis was still holding his hands. 

Louis follows his gaze and blushes. "Oops sorry." He quickly release them.

"It'a alright. Um do you want to stay for another movie?" Harry asks, when he realizes the end credits were rolling on the screen. 

Louis glances at the clock and winces. "I should be heading to bed actually. Long day tomorrow, sorry."

Harry tries to bury his disappointment. "Oh that's alright, I understand."

Louis notices the tight smile on Harry's face and immediately changes his mind. "Actually, one more movie wouldn't hurt."

"You sure?"

Louis nods. "Yeah, I missed our movie nights together."

Harry bites down a smile. "Me too. Um so do you want to search for a movie?"

"Yeah, hand me the remote." Once Louis has the remote, he settles back in the bed, siting up against the headboard and rest his left arm behind his head. 

Harry is almost tempted to cuddle up to his side, but instead keeps a good amount of space between them. 

As Louis searches for a movie, Harry can't help but stare at him.

It should feel weird being in the same bed as you ex-husband, but for some reason it didn't. 

Harry turns his body toward him and props his head with his hand. "Are you scared for your speech tomorrow?"

"A little yeah," Louis answers, keeping his eyes focused on the screen. "Okay, maybe more than a little," he adds after a few seconds. 

"You're going to do fine." Harry tries to reassure him. "You never had a problem with public speaking before."

"I know, but this is a pretty big deal to me and I don't want to let anyone down."

Harry suddenly remembers back to the speech and the fact that he wasn't mentioned in there at all. 

He tries to push down the bitterness he was feeling. 

"I'm sure your speech is just fine. Just make sure to thank everyone who helped you get where you are now."

Louis pauses for a minute to think before continuing to look for a movie

"I guess, I'm just afraid to say the wrong thing."

"You won't." Harry always had a lot of confidence in him. 

This makes Louis smile to himself. "So, are you going to be there tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Penelope's making me cover it."

Louis doesn't know why, but he was kind of disappointed with that answer. "Oh, that's cool." 

Harry notices the slight frown on Louis's face and realizes he might have worded that answer wrong. 

"But even if I wasn't working, I would have still gone to support you," Harry quickly amended. 

The frown instantly disappears and Harry counts that as a success. 

"Thanks Harry." Louis looks away to hide his giddy smile. 

They spend a few more minutes looking for a movie before settling on Dr. Strange to continue Harry's Marvel marathon. 

As they watch Benedict Cumberbatch's car fly off the cliff, Louis eyes drift over to Harry, who was a little too far away for his liking. 

"Um, hey Harry."

"Yeah?"

"You um, can move closer, if you want," Louis mumbles. 

Harry's eyes snap over to him and catches the clear blush on Louis's cheeks. "Louis, are you asking if I want to cuddle?" Harry asks with a smirk. 

"No, I um just thought...I mean you don't have to if-"

Harry rolls his eyes fondly and scoots over until he was right beside Louis, making him shut up.

Harry makes himself smaller, by curling against Louis's side and rests his head on his chest. 

This sudden movement makes Louis's breath hitch and his face reddens even more. 

Louis eventually relaxes after his mild panic and puts an arm around Harry, hoping that Harry couldn't feel the nerves radiating from him. 

"Is this okay?" Harry decides to ask.

Louis nods his head, not trusting his voice.

Harry places his hand on Louis's chest, feeling how fast his heartbeat was going. 

They stay like this for several minutes, their eyes focused on the screen.

Harry was trying his best to concentrate on the movie, but that was hard since Louis kept on squirming all over the place. 

Harry doesn't say anything, thinking that Louis needed to get comfortable, but after a few minutes of constant moving and squirming, Harry had enough. 

"Louis, can you sit still please?"

Louis freezes. "I'm sorry."

He manages to stay still for a few seconds before he starts to squirm again. 

Harry sits up and looks at him with a confused look.

"Are you alright? Why do you keep-" Harry stops when he sees it. "Oh."

Louis sits up all the way and puts a pillow over his lap to cover himself. He was blushing profusely and Harry was trying so hard not to laugh. 

"Just ignore it please," Louis begs with his eyes shut in embarrassment. 

He didn't mean to get a boner, but he couldn't help it. It was just this whole thing felt very domestic and Louis was always turned on by domesticity. 

Harry bites his bottom lip. "Um, it's kind of hard not to."

Louis groans. "I'll just leave. I'm really sorry."

Before Louis can sit up, Harry keeps him there by holding on to his arm. 

Without saying anything, Harry carefully lays him down back on the bed. 

Louis for some reason is pliant and goes easily. As soon as Harry touched him, it was like his body was yearning for more. 

"Harry, what are you doing?" Louis whispers, not wanting to disturb the moment. 

"I...I don't know." Harry honestly had no idea what he was doing, he was just doing what his body wanted. 

Both boys were visibly nervous, but they weren't going to let this moment pass them. 

Harry just hovers over him, looking into his eyes for any sign of discomfort.

"Harry if you're going to kiss me, I don't think I'll be able to stop," Louis tells him with a sense of caution in his voice. 

Louis knows as soon as he gets one taste of Harry again, he's not going to be able to stop wanting more.

"I don't want you to," Harry whispers.

Without hesitation, Harry leans down and places a gentle kiss against Louis's mouth. 

Before Harry can even digest what just happened, Louis pulls him down by his neck and smashes their lips together. 

Harry let's out a tiny yelp against his lips, but eventually melts into it. 

Their mouths moved against one another like they did every time they kissed: hot, intense and passionate. 

Harry takes the initiative and swings his legs over Louis's waist and straddles him, without even breaking the kiss. 

Louis runs his hands down Harry's back until they were cupping his bum. He gives it a good squeeze, causing Harry to moan into the kiss. 

"Louis are you sure about this?" Harry backs away so he can look into his eyes. "I mean you just got out of a relationship."

"I wouldn't really call it a relationship. It didn't last long and we didn't even sleep together," Louis admits. 

"What really?" Harry asks surprised. "Because Lucas told me you two were getting serious."

Louis frowns. "What? No, the furthest thing we did was kiss. Now can we please stop talking about that prick and continue what we were doing?" 

Harry looks into Louis's eyes and sees how dilated they were, his were most likely the same. 

The vibe in the room changed drastically and both men already knew where this was heading. If they continued they couldn't come back from this. 

Harry uses one hand to gently cup Louis's face. "Alright."

Louis smiles up at him and turns his head to plant a kiss against Harry's palm.

"Are you nervous?" Harry asks. 

"Me nervous?" Louis scoffs. "Of course not."

Harry grins down at him, knowing that he was lying. "You know, you have no reason to be. We know each other inside and out, and if I remember correctly, we had great sex chemistry. 

Louis knew he and Harry were great in bed, and he knows Harry's body very well, so why was he practically shitting himself? 

Louis places his hands on top of Harry's thighs, trying to get reacquainted with how he felt under his palms. 

"But what if I'm not as good as you remember?" Louis asks, he didn't want to seem insecure, but he's only human. "I mean it's been a long time."

"Louis." Harry looks deep into his eyes, "It doesn't matter how long it's been. I know it's going to be great because it's with you."

Louis smiles up at him, feeling his nerves dissipate. "You're the best you know that?"

"I know." Harry takes a deep breath. "But I'm also really horny and I need you to take off your pants right now."

Louis laughs, making the tension in the room dial down. 

"Alright, but we have to be quiet." Louis pulls him down so he can kiss at his neck. "Our kids might hear us." 

Harry moans and grinds his hips down on Louis's lap. "Fuck Lou."

It looks like both of them have a domesticity kink. 

Louis smirks at his reaction and nips at his ear lobe. "That turn you on babe?" he whispers against his ear. 

Harry shivers when he feels Louis's breath against his neck. 

"You remember those rare days when the kids were out, we would have sex in almost every room of this house," Louis continues. "I'm pretty sure we fucked 10 times in a single day, one time."

Harry moans at the memory. 

He was so turned on that he was scared he was going to come undone from just a single touch. 

At this point Harry was losing his patience and was tired of the foreplay, so he just sits up, pulls off his own shirt and tosses it across the room. 

Louis couldn't see straight after that, Even though Louis was the professional footballer, Harry also worked out a lot too. His biceps were big due to boxing and the yoga he's doing has really toned his abs.

It was like he was carved from stone. 

After a few seconds of Louis just admiring Harry's body, Harry starts to get impatient. 

"I swear Louis, if we're not fucking in this bed in 5 minutes, I'm going to literally toss you out of my room, so I can take care of myself."

Louis suddenly flips them over so that Harry was the one under him. Louis hovers over him by his forearms and kisses him again. 

Harry hums appreciatively and wraps his legs around him, not wanting to let go. 

As soon as Harry thought they were finally moving on, Louis backs away suddenly. 

"Wait." Louis stands up.

Harry looks at him as if he was crazy. "Now what?!" 

"We can't do this in here," Louis explains. 

"And why not?" 

Louis ignores the question. "Just follow me." He puts out a hand for Harry.

Harry sighs, but grabs on anyway. 

Louis drags him to the bedroom door and opens it slightly so there was a tiny crack he could peek through. 

"Louis what are you doing?" Harry whines impatiently.

All the teasing Louis did, riled him up so much and he needed to get off before he exploded. 

"Shhh," Louis shushes him. "Just be quiet." 

Harry decides to listen to him and shuts up. 

Louis looks down the hallway, making sure the coast was clear.

After a few seconds, Louis drags Harry out of the room and scurries his way through the hallway until they were in front of the master bedroom; their room.

Harry finally knew what his intentions were, and he bit his bottom lip to suppress a moan. 

Louis looks up at him, suddenly a little nervous. "Um I just thought it would make sense if we did it in here, b-but if you don't want to then we can-"

Harry cuts him off by pressing him against the door and kissing him hard. 

"Take me to bed, Louis," Harry whispers against his lips. 

Louis nods his head and opens their bedroom door while holding onto Harry's hand tightly. 

As soon as they were inside, the door shuts, trapping the two inside. 

Louis is woken up by his phone vibrating. 

It's a bit disorienting when he wakes up in his and Harry's bedroom. Louis rubs the blurriness from his eyes and tries to get his bearings. 

He smiles when he realizes that Harry was still in his arms. Images from last night race through his mind; clothes being thrown, naked skin, and Harry's lovely deep moans echoing in his ear. 

They were perfectly in-sync and they moved against each other the same way they did when they first met. 

Louis looks down at the younger man, cuddled to his chest and feels his heart skip a beat. 

After getting to feel him and taste him again last night, Louis doesn't think he can ever let this man go again.

Louis's phone vibrates again, bringing him out of his daze.

He carefully reaches back for his phone, trying not to wake Harry up. 

"Hello?" Louis answers it with a gruff voice, still laced with sleep.

"Sorry to wake you up Louis, but we need you down here." It was Louis's agent and there was a tone of urgency to his voice. 

"What why?" Louis asks, burying his face into Harry's shoulder, trying to get get used to his smell again. 

"We need to go over some things before the press conference today and we need you here now before the press arrive."

Louis notices that it was still dark outside and mentally groans. "Can't you just tell me over the phone?"

"It would be easier if you were here physically Louis. Just please get your arse down here as soon as possible. Thanks."

Louis's agent hangs up on him and Louis throws his phone somewhere on the bed. 

He looks back down at Harry and pouts when he realizes that he has to leave him. 

Louis didn't want to, but he needed to go before his agent drove over here himself and dragged him out of bed.

He was tempted to wake Harry up, but he looked so peaceful that he didn't have the heart to. 

Before he gets up, Louis places a gentle kiss on Harry's naked shoulder and stays there for a few seconds. 

"I've missed you," Louis whispers against his skin.

Harry hums in his sleep, contently, but doesn't wake up. 

Louis reluctantly gets out of bed and gets dressed. 

Before he leaves, Louis decides to leave a note on the bedside table for Harry, so he doesn't think he just ran off. 

Louis looks down at Harry once more, and makes a promise from that moment on that he wasn't going to let this go; not again. 

Chapter Text

There were so many other things Harry could be doing right now on his day off, but no instead he has to serve divorce papers to his husband because apparently, the papers keep getting “lost” in the mail, at least that’s what Louis told him.

Harry taps on the desk impatiently, as the concierge takes his time on the phone, occasionally looking up at Harry to give him apologetic looks.

The place Louis was staying at was what you expected a professional footballer to stay in: posh and definitely overpriced.

As soon as you walk in, there's people waiting at door, ready to assist you for whatever you need and a grand chandelier suspended high in the air above your head 

There were men and women in suits and fancy clothing just at the bar, probably unwinding from a long day at work. Harry has the desire to go buy a drink himself, but figures that it’s better if he faces Louis sober.

Harry continues to look around from under his sunglasses, probably looking like a douche, but he couldn't care less. He was tired, and he honestly didn’t have the energy to care what anybody thought about him right now.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the concierge hangs up and gives his full attention to Harry. “Sorry about that sir, how may I help you today?” he asks with a charming smile.

“I was just wondering if you know what room Louis Tomlinson is staying in.”

“And may I ask your name please?”

“Harry Tomlinson.”

The concierge’s face lights up with recognition. “Ah of course, my apologies. Mr. Tomlinson is staying in room 23B on the 5^th floor. Would you like someone to escort you up there, Mr. Tomlinson?”

Harry resists rolling his eyes. “No that’s alright, and Harry is just fine thank you.”

“Yes of course.” The concierge politely smiles at him. “Well, have a good rest of your day Harry.”

“I doubt I will.” Harry smiles tightly at him and leaves to go to the elevators.

Thankfully, there was no one else in the elevators, giving him some privacy to do some breathing exercises before he gets up there.

Harry closes his eyes and clutches the orange packet closer to his chest.

Once the elevator dings, he steps out and navigates his way through the halls.

Harry watches the numbers continue to go up on the doors until he finally reaches room 23. Without hesitation he knocks on the door.

He only waits for a few seconds before Louis responds, “What do you want?” His voice comes from behind the door.

“Open the door Louis,” Harry tells him.

“What’s in the packet?”

“Coupons to Nandos,” Harry deadpans. “What do you think it is Louis?”

There a few seconds of silence before he answers, “Just leave it on my doorstep.”

Harry sighs, he knew it wasn’t going to be this easy. “Actually, I rather hand this to you. I don’t want this to get lost like the 3 other copies that were sent to you.”

Again, another few seconds of silence until Harry hears a lock click and the turning of the door knob.

Louis opens the door and invites Harry inside.

Harry takes a subtle look around, trying to ignore the piles of pizza boxes, empty smokes, and beer bottles scattered around the flat. 

It seemed like Louis hasn't done much with the place since Harry couldn't find any of his personal belongings. 

In the corner of the living room, Harry finds a pile of unopened boxes. As much as Harry wants to ask why he hasn't unpacked yet, he refrains, wanting to get this over with. 

“You need to sign these papers." Harry gets right to the point.

Louis just stares at him. “It’s good to see you too Harry.”

“It’s been 2 weeks since we finalized everything, all they need is your signature.”

Instead of answering, Louis ignores him and walks to the kitchen. “You want something to drink?”

Harry stares at his back. “Louis are you even listening to me?”

“I can make tea if you want?”

“Louis, I’m being serious here!”

Louis opens the fridge. “Oh look I have more beer. You want some? Unless you drove then I can make-"

“Louis! Can you stop fucking around?!” Harry shouts, making Louis freeze where he is.

Harry watches Louis clutch the fridge door until his knuckles turn white, not daring to turn around.

“I need you to sign these papers.” Harry sighs. “I can’t keep doing this with you.”

Harry pauses, just in case Louis wants to say anything, but he stays where he is, not saying a word.

“I know this is hard and I’m asking a lot from you,” Harry continues when Louis doesn’t say anything. "But I’m so tired Louis. I’m tired of the fighting and the arguing. I just need it to be over, please.”

Harry waits another minute for Louis to say something, but nothing happens.

“Well are you going to say anything?” Harry asks with frustration.

Louis closes the fridge, but keeps his back toward Harry. “What do you want me to say Harry?”

“That you’ll sign these divorce papers!”

Harry stares at Louis’s tense shoulders, waiting for a response but it doesn’t come.

“Fine, be a selfish prick." Harry shakes his head in disappointment and turns around, ready to leave.

There wasn’t any point of staying any longer, Harry will just figure something else out.

“Give me the papers,” Louis’s voice comes through before Harry even reaches the door.

Harry stops and slowly turns around to make sure he heard that right. “What?”

Louis finally turns back around with his face stoic. “Give me the papers,” he repeats so calmly, that it was freaking Harry out a little.

“Um here." Harry hands him over the packet and Louis takes it.

“I’ll be right back,” Louis announces and disappears down the hallway.

Harry stands there awkwardly, putting his hands behind his back, waiting for Louis to return.

Not even a minute later, Louis comes back and hands him back the packet.

“There I signed it, now leave.”

“You signed?”

“Yes, go ahead and double check if you like, but I give you my word that I signed.”

Harry looks into his eyes and all he sees is exhaustion.

Not wanting to be any more difficult, Harry decides to trust him. “I trust you. I really do appreciate this Louis.”

“Yeah, look I have practice in a bit so…”

Harry gets the message. “Of course.”

Louis escorts him to the door, making sure to open it for him.

Before Harry leaves, he turns around. “Oh um, I should give you this.” Harry squeezes off his engagement ring, looking at it for a minute before holding it out for Louis to take. 

An odd feeling passes through Harry as he looks at his bare fingers. He took off his wedding ring weeks ago, but now that he doesn't have his engagement ring anymore he feels naked.

When Harry looks up at Louis’s face he knows that he's not the only one feeling that this meant something more that just a ring. 

Louis's jaw was clenched tight and he looked at the ring like he didn’t even want to touch it.

Harry clears his throat to get his attention.

Without saying anything, Louis takes the ring out from his palm and carefully clutches it in his own hand.

“Are we done now?” Louis’s voice was so cold, it almost made Harry flinch.

“Yeah, look Louis I-"

Louis doesn’t even let him finish and slams the door in his face.

Harry’s eyes shoot open.

It takes him a while to fully wake up and realize where he was.

Suddenly all the memories from last night come crashing back: hands all over each other, the moaning, Louis’s lips grazing his stomach, the way Louis gripped his waist as he-

Harry rubs his hands against his face, abruptly stopping his thoughts.

Sunlight was peeking through the curtains, causing light to bounce off the walls and the birds could be heard chirping outside, creating a very picturesque scene.

Harry lets himself enjoy the warmth and the serenity of it all before letting reality settle back in.

Louis was gone.

Harry doesn’t even have to look around to know that.

A slight ache settles in his chest as he realizes how familiar this situation feels; waking up alone in a cold bed was something that he was all too familiar with unfortunately.

Harry turns onto his back and stares blankly at the white ceiling above him.

It wasn’t surprising that Louis left him, but it was still disappointing.

He would have thought last night was all a dream if it wasn’t for the marks on his neck or the fact that he was laying naked in what once his and Louis’s bed.

Harry’s eyes drift to the empty space next to him. He sees the slight impression of where Louis’s body once was, and it reassures him that he wasn’t imagining it all.

When Harry finally does manage to get up, he puts on his clothes from last night, except for his shirt that he couldn't seem to find. It takes a minute, but Harry finally remembers that he took off his shirt before they even got into the master bedroom. He chastises himself for caving in and falling back into Louis's arms so easily. 

Harry looks down at the messy bed for a few seconds, before ripping off the covers and dumping them into the hamper. It felt like Harry was getting rid of evidence from a crime scene and he was the one who was left to clean up the mess.

As Harry changes the sheets of the bed, he surprisingly wasn’t feeling any ounce of anger or sadness, instead he was just numb. Maybe he owes it to all those times Louis disappointed him before.

“Papa?” Beckham yells from somewhere downstairs.

Harry jumps at the voice. “Shit” he mutters and haphazardly throws the rest of the clean sheets down on the bed.

“Papa, are you up?” Beckham’s voice was getting closer, so Harry takes one more look around to make sure everything was back where it was.

In his hurry, Harry completely misses the carefully folded-up piece of paper placed on the bedside table with his name on it.

Once Harry deemed that the bedroom looked presentable, he opens the door slightly, checking to see if the coast was clear. He listens for any footsteps and when he doesn’t hear anything, he steps out the room, turning around to softly shut the door.

“There you are.”

Harry shuts his eyes briefly and curses his luck.

“Good morning Beck.” Harry turns around with a wide innocent grin on his face. “What do you need?”

Beckham eyes him suspiciously, his gaze drifting from Harry’s shirtless torso and then to the master bedroom door behind him.

“Good morning, um what were you doing in there?”

“I was just…cleaning." Harry makes it up on the spot.

Beckham frowns. “But what is there to clean? You don’t even sleep in there anymore?”

“That’s right but um…” Harry scrambles to think of something, and then he spots one of Clifford’s toys on the floor which sparks an idea, “…Clifford managed to get in and make a mess of the place.”

“Are you sure?” Beckham looks at him with doubt. “Because Clifford was in my room the whole night.”

“Was he?” Harry pretends to look confused. “Then what left that mess in there?”

Beckham’s eyes widen comically. “Oh my god, do you think someone broke in last night?”

“What? No, no I don’t think someone-”

“Someone broke in?!” Olivia shrieks as she comes out from nowhere and overhears their conversation. “Are they still here?”

Harry looks between them, putting his hands up to calm his kids down. “No, I’m sure no one broke in. Maybe Clifford sneaked in while you were asleep.”

“Maybe, but then how did he get in? The door was shut-"

“Look I don’t know Beck!” Harry snaps, blaming it all on his sour mood. “Maybe the door wasn’t shut all the way!”

Beckham and Olivia both express shock at their father’s outburst and physically take a step back to give him some space.

Harry takes a deep breath, calming himself down. “I’m sorry I yelled. It’s just really early and I have a lot to do today.”

Also, your dad left me alone this morning in a cold bed after we slept together. But Harry of course doesn’t mention that part.

Olivia and Beckham nod with understanding, knowing how flustered their father can get during busy days.

Harry smiles apologetically at them. “Anyway, did you guys need something?’

“Oh yeah, we were just wondering if you knew where dad is?” Beckham asks. 

“He’s not in the guest house?” Harry assumed that Louis left in the middle of the night to sneak back to his own bed.

“No and his car isn’t here either,” Beckham fills him in.

Harry raises his eyebrows. Did he regret the sex that bad that it made him literally drive away?

“Did you try calling him?” Harry asks.

“Yeah, but he won’t pick up. Can you try calling him?”

Harry suppresses a snort. “Trust me, if he didn’t answer you guys, he’s not going to answer me. Why do you need dad anyway?”

“We just wanted to wish him good luck today at the press conference,” Beckham said. “We know how nervous he was.”

“That’s very sweet of you guys.” Harry smiles fondly at them. “I don’t know where your dad is, but I’m sure he knows that he has your support.”

“You’re going to the presser, right?” Olivia asks.

Harry nods his head, yes.

“Can you give dad the card we made him?” Olivia pulls out a home-made card from her back pocket. “It was last minute so it isn’t much.”

Harry takes the card from her hand. It was a black piece of cardstock, with “THE TOMMO/ OUR DAD" written in all caps on the top and below that was a collage of different pictures of Louis either playing football, winning awards or him with the kids.

When Harry turns the card around, there was one picture taking up the whole side: It was of the whole family, sitting around playing Uno.

“Um, when was this?” Harry asks pointing at the picture.

“Grandma Anne took it when we were all playing Uno that one night she was here,” Olivia explains to him.

Harry immediately remembers and looks down at the picture in his hands.

They looked happy. The kids were smiling from ear to ear, Harry’s head was tilted back in laughter, and Louis was looking right at Harry with a fond expression.

Harry drags his thumb over the picture and wishes that he could have that night again, just one last time.

“Do you think he’ll like it, papa?” Beckham’s question brings him out from his thoughts.

“Of course, this is wonderful. You know, he might even cry,” Harry teases.

“If he does, please take a video for us.” Olivia chuckles.

“Of course,” Harry promises. “Now who wants to help me make breakfast?" 

Beckham and Olivia simultaneously raise their hands and race down the steps, with Harry right behind them.  

Harry was late, like really late.

It took him forever to figure out what to wear, which sounds so cliché but it was true. Harry had a very bold sense of style and most of his wardrobe consisted of bright colors, sequence, glitter and everything that just screams, “Look at me!”

Harry didn’t want to draw any attention onto himself today for obvious reasons, so he had to dig in the back of his closet just to find a plain navy-blue suit, which had collected dust because it hadn’t been worn in years.

While looking in the mirror, Harry frowns at the bland suit, but sucks it up and thankfully saves the outfit by putting on his pair of sparkly black shoes he got from Gucci last year.

After Harry was done getting ready, he had like 30 minutes to spare, but as he made his way downstairs, he looks in horror when he finds tiny yellow handprints placed all over the white walls of his foyer.

“Mila!?” Harry yells out, already knowing who those tiny handprints belong to. He's been wondering why she's been so quiet this whole time. 

Harry finds a trail of yellow paint and follows it into the living room. 

"Mila? What did you do?" Harry asks, walking slowly over to his daughter who was sat in the middle of the floor, covered in yellow paint. 

Mila looks up at him innocently with her big brown eyes. "I made art papa!" she gestures to the painted stick figures on the floor.

Harry spots the almost empty can of yellow paint spilled onto his white carpet. 

"Oh Mila."

So, then it took another 30 minutes to clean Mila up because apparently the paint did not take too kindly to skin, so Harry had to scrub her till she was red, which caused a lot of tears and crying.  

As much as Harry wanted to scrub the paint off his walls and floor, he had no time, so he makes a mental note to do that as soon as he gets home.

Now, Harry was about a half an hour late, and speeding through traffic, trying not to get in a car accident.

As he comes to a stop at a red light, he takes the time to take a breather.

Harry’s had a whirlwind of a day already and he hasn’t had much time to reflect on what happened.

All he knew was that Louis left him this morning and he doesn’t know why or where he went after.

It was starting to get annoying how hot and cold Louis was being. Harry has never had a hard time reading Louis until now, and it was frustrating to say the least.

The only thing Harry was certain of was that he was tired. He was tired of trying to fix something that maybe can’t be fixed.

A car’s horn startles him from his thoughts and he puts his attention back onto the road.

Harry finally makes it to the Arsenal complex, and whips into the nearest parking spot, which was probably the furthest spot from the building’s entrance.

The parking lot was completely full. There were tons of news vans parked, all there to witness Louis’s press conference today.

Harry clips his press badge on and takes one last look in the mirror before leaving his car.

There was slight dark circles under his eyes, but thankfully it was barely noticeable.

As Harry nears the entrance he’s met with security who automatically let him in, knowing who he is already.

“How late am I?” Harry asks one of the security guards, as he checks in. 

“Well Louis has been talking for a good 10 minutes already so…”

Harry groans, Penelope was going to kill him.

He manages to get out a thank you before rushing down the hallway to the conference room.

As soon as Harry turns one more corner, he sighs in relief when he sees the double doors. 

Harry was in such a rush, that he doesn’t even think when he just pushes right on through. 

The door slams against the wall, creating a deafening sound which makes everyone turn around to try to find the source of the commotion.

Harry shuts his eyes briefly, cursing himself, before he shifts around to face the crowd.

The room was completely full and cameras were scattered everywhere.

Everyone was turned in their seats, eyes just studying Harry with a mix of surprise and confusion.

Harry feels the room get smaller as he looks up to the front of the room and spots Louis standing there in front of the podium.

There was clear amusement on his face as he watches Harry, and Harry flushes a little because of it.

Louis was wearing a black windbreaker and grey joggers, a classic Louis look. His hair was looking as fluffy as ever and Harry hates to admit it, but he looked good.

Harry studies Louis's face to find any ounce of regret or sadness, but all he sees is that bright smile.

At least one of them was in a good mood. 

Louis musters a small wave over at him that Harry pretends not to notice and looks away.  

Not knowing what else to do at this point, Harry just clears his throat and awkwardly makes his way to an empty seat.

He can feel eyes following his every move, and he feels his anxiety start to build up.

Looks like he didn’t need a loud suit to garner attention away from everyone.

Once Harry was in his chair, he lets out a breath of relief and keeps his eyes focused on his lap, until he knows that most eyes were off him.

He jumps a little when he hears Louis’s voice come through the mic.

“Alright looks like we have a late-comer.” Louis laughs, but he wasn’t making fun of him, it had more of a gentle tone to it. “Um, would Sky Sports like a quick rundown about what’s happened so far?”

Harry shakes his head as he looks up. “No, that’s okay. I don’t want to cause any more disruptions than I already have,” he speaks up a little so Louis can hear him.

Harry has already read the speech already, so there really isn’t anything he needs to know anyway, but of course Louis doesn’t know that.

“Nah its fine.” Louis shakes his head. “I’ll just give you a quick summary.”

Harry opens his mouth to argue some more, but quickly shuts it and just nods his head not wanting to take up anymore of everyone’s time.

“So, I’m going to be retiring by the end of this season, but you already knew that of course.” Louis gives him a knowing look.

Harry’s face starts to heat up when he feels curious glances from other journalists. He kind of wishes that Louis didn't reveal that bit of information.

Ever since Harry dated Louis, he's always been side-eyed by other journalists. Many of them even wrote stories about how he was only with Louis to get the inside "scoop", but that rumor soon faded when people realized that Harry wasn't planning on involving himself with any Louis Tomlinson related news. 

In fact, Harry has never given up any piece of information on Louis even now. 

“And then I went on to gush about my teammates and coaches, saying how much they influenced me, that I’ll miss them, and all that sappy crap,” Louis drones on. “And now before you came in, I was thanking my family, and I was just about to thank our kids so I guess you got here right on time.”

Harry nods his head. “Thank you for the recap.”

“Anything for Sky Sports.” Louis throws him a wink.

Harry just clears his throat and sits up straighter in his chair, waiting for Louis to continue.

Louis frowns a little at the lack of reaction, but manages to hide it well by coughing into his fist.

“Okay so where did I leave off?" Louis looks down at his speech. Once he finds his spot he clears his throat. "It was always a dream of mine to become a father and I was lucky enough to become one to three beautiful children: Beckham, Olivia and Mila. Those kids are my source of happiness and they never fail to put a smile on my face. They were always there for me, even if at times when I wasn’t there for them.”

Louis looks up and to Harry’s surprise there was a sad smile on his face.

“I’m sorry that I missed birthdays; I’m sorry that I missed football games; I’m sorry I missed dance recitals; I’m sorry for not being the father that you guys deserved.” Louis takes a deep breath, trying to prevent himself from crying. “But even through all that, my kids never got mad at me. They just took it and continued to support me because that’s how selfless they are and I’m so proud of them.

“As I’m going into retirement, I promise them that I will work on being a better father and I will dedicate my life on making them happy. They’ll get so sick of me being at home, that they’ll wish I never retired." Louis chuckles.

The rest of the room laughs, including Harry who smiles softy down at his lap.

This was Harry’s favorite part of the speech and he’s been waiting for Louis to read it aloud ever since he secretly read it himself.

“I love you guys so much and I expect tons of cuddles when I get home.” Louis directs it towards the camera and Harry can imagine his kids going a little crazy as they watch from home. "But the true father of the year goes to this incredible man over here.” Louis gestures over to Harry.

Harry freezes in his seat.

He doesn’t remember reading this part.

“Harry was there for the kids when I couldn’t be, and at the same time was working and trying to keep our marriage together for the both of us. He was literally the glue to our family.”

Harry feels his face to warm up and he suddenly wanted to hide under his chair.

“He made my dream of becoming a father come true, and I’m thankful for that every day." Louis finally looks down at Harry and makes eye contact. “I will never be able to thank him enough for everything, but I will do everything I can to make up for all the mistakes I made.”

Harry is able to hold his stare for only a few seconds before he looks away. If Louis really wanted to make it up to him, then he wouldn’t have left him this morning.

“I know I probably will never find a love like ours again, but I’m fine with that because I experienced what real love felt like even if it was for a short while.” Louis clears his throat, trying to disguise the emotion in his voice. “So thank you Harry for everything, you’re my hero and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to share this life with.”

Harry can feel eyes staring at him from every direction, but the only person he’s focused on was Louis. He doesn’t even know why Louis is saying any of this, it wasn’t making any sense and it was just confusing Harry even more.

Before Harry can make a bigger deal out of this, Louis looks away and looks forward.

“And lastly I have to thank the fans for all the support. Hearing you guys in the stands was what made the games an amazing experience and I’m going to miss that feeling of hearing your chants vibrate the whole stadium. I appreciate all the memories and I’ll cherish them forever.”

Louis takes a deep breath and claps his hands in front of him. “Alright well that’s it for me. Do you guys have any questions?”

Immediately, almost everyone puts their hands up.

Louis picks on a random hand.

“Have there been any discussions about a new team captain?”

“Ah yes me and the team have been talking…”

Harry drones out of the conversation after that.

It was hard to focus on anything after everything Louis just said.

The words coming out of his mouth seemed genuine, but it doesn’t match what happened this morning. 

Could this be just for the cameras?

The thought crosses Harry’s mind, but he doesn’t want to believe that; He refuses to believe that.

Louis would never do anything like that…right?

Harry feels his palms start to get sweaty and his head was starting to throb slightly. His body was practically telling him to run away, and Harry was just about to do that until he hears Louis call his name. 

“Harry?”

Harry looks up and finds Louis looking at him with a concerned look.

“I’m sorry what?” Harry was so lost in his head, he doesn’t even know how long time has passed since then.

“I just asked if you had any questions? You’re the only one who hasn’t asked.”

Well it looks like he was lost in his thoughts for a while since he looks at the other journalists who have already asked their questions, all waiting for him. 

“Oh yes, sorry." Harry shakes his head trying to clear his head. He almost forgot he had a job to do.

Harry looks down at his notes and finds nothing there. Great.

Looks like he’ll just have to make something up on the spot. “So, what are your plans after retirement?” It was a simple question, but that’s all that came to his head, he just hopes no one has asked him this yet.

“Well, I think I’m just going to relax for a few months and spend time with my family,” Louis answers him. “Then I don’t know what after that. Maybe coaching or managing, but that isn’t on my agenda right now.”

Harry was a little surprised with that answer. “Really? Didn’t peg you as a stay-at-home dad.”

Louis smiles to himself. “Yeah well things change and I’ve been wanting to improve on my cooking skills, so maybe you’ll eventually let me cook dinner one day?”

Harry snorts. “Only if you let me supervise.”

“What? You don’t trust me?” Louis pouts.

People start to laugh in the crowd and it brings Harry back to the reality of the situation.

Harry clears his throat, avoiding eye contact. “No, not really.”

Louis looks at him curiously, trying to figure out the sudden change in Harry’s tone.

When no one else asks any more questions, Louis decides to end it. 

Louis smiles at the crowd. "Okay well if that's it, I want to thank everyone for coming. I know I can be a little shit sometimes to the press, but I do appreciate everything you do. I know you guys will miss my witty banter.”

Some people roll their eyes and others chuckle, but everyone knew it was true.

Even though Louis didn’t have the greatest relationship with the media, most journalists loved how Louis wasn’t scared to share his opinions or start a fight.

Louis leaves with one last wave and leaves the room followed by security and other Arsenal personnel. The only time he looks back is to glance at Harry, but it only lasts probably a half a second before he turns back around. 

Harry gets up from his seat and is immediately approached by some of his colleagues.

“Hey Harry,” Marty, a journalist from BBC Sports, greets him.

“Hi Marty." Harry politely smiles at him.

“So, you knew Tomlinson was going to retire?”

“Yeah, he told me a while ago actually.”

“Could have made a good story out of it. How come you didn’t say anything?” Another man, that Harry doesn’t recognize, speaks up.

“Because I don’t exploit…” Harry tries to think of what he should call Louis, “…people I know,” he settles on.

“Even if that person happens to be your bitter ex-husband?” Marty asks with amusement in his voice.

“Yes,” Harry says without hesitation.

“Man, maybe I should go ahead and sack myself a footballer, I would have a story every week. Hey, Harry do you know if Louis is looking for anyone right now?” The man, that Harry didn’t recognize, asks with a laugh.

Even though Harry knew he was joking, he couldn’t help the jealousy that flares up.

Before Harry could say anything else, a security guard intervenes in their little group.

“Mr. Styles, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Louis would like to see you.”

Harry feels the stares coming from his colleagues.

“Um I actually have to run,” Harry lies. “Just tell Louis that I’ll see him later.”

The security guard nods his head and leaves to go relay the message to Louis.

Harry chats only for a few more minutes before excusing himself to go to the restroom.

As soon as he enters the toilets, he sees the one person he was hoping to avoid.

Louis looks up from where he was at the urinals and his eyes widen.

Physically incapable of doing anything else, Harry just nods in acknowledgement and settles in his own urinal, making sure to skip the two next to Louis.

When Harry pulls down his zipper, he cringes at how unnecessary loud it was.  

“So you had to run huh?” Louis finally speaks up.

Harry looks up to the ceiling, closing his eyes, trying to focus on peeing.

“Back to the silent treatment, really H?” Louis said, due to Harry’s lack of a response.

Harry’s eyes snap open and he spins his head to look at him. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to take a piss here, so if you don’t mind?”

Louis rolls his eyes and zips up, passing Harry to get to the sinks.

Harry sighs, and does his business before walking to the sinks himself and washing his hands.

His eyes are focused down on the sink, but he could feel Louis’s stare burning on the side of his face.

“So, what did I do now?” Louis asks, with his arms crossed, while he leans against the sink with his hip.

Harry finishes washing his hands, and carefully dries them with a paper towel, taking his time before responding to Louis.

“What the hell was that up there Louis?” Harry asks with a steady voice.

“What was what?”

“All that shit you said up there during your speech.”

Louis frowns. “Did I say something wrong?”

Harry shakes his head. “No, but why? Why did you say those things? Did you mean any of it or was it all for the cameras?”

“What?!” Louis looks at him like he’s crazy. “Of course I meant it, why would you even say that? You know I would never play it up for the cameras." 

“Actually I don’t know Louis. I’ve been having a hard time reading you lately, and it’s like I barely know you anymore.”

“Alright, what the hell happened?” Louis asks exasperated. “I thought last night was-"

“Was what?” Harry interrupts before he can even finish.

Louis throws a frustrated glare at him. “I thought we were on the same page.”

“And what page would that be huh?” Harry turns his body toward him. “Because I thought the same thing until I woke up this morning.”

“So, what? We have sex and then poof we’re back to fighting again?”

“It looks that way.” Harry clenches his jaw, his eyes fixated on Louis.

Louis frowns at him and steps forward with his arm out as if he was going to touch him, but then the door opens.

“Oh, hey Harry.” Marty walks in, oblivious to the tension in the room.

Harry watches Louis immediately backs away and puts his arm down like nothing happened.

“Hey Marty," Harry greets him quietly. 

Marty’s eyes widen as they drift onto Louis. “Oh and Louis, congrats on the retirement mate.”

Louis manages to smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks.”

Marty stands there awkwardly, looking between the two of them and realizes he walked in on something.

“Well I’ll just…” Marty gestures to the toilet and closes the stall behind him, wanting to escape whatever he walked in on.

Louis opens his mouth to speak, but Harry beats him to it.

“Look I have to go.” Harry starts to walk toward the door, but pauses right next to Louis. “Oh um, the kids made this for you.” Harry takes out the card from his coat pocket and hands it to Louis.

Louis swallows down any words that he was going to say. “Thank you.”

Harry doesn’t say anything after that and just leaves out the door.

When Harry gets home, he takes a deep breath and trudges up the stairs.

He passes yellow handprints on his walls and groans aloud when he remembers that he has to figure out a way to clean those out.

As he’s making his way to his bedroom, he notices that the door to the master bedroom was cracked open.

Harry swears he closed it this morning, so he goes to investigate.

He opens the door wide and to his surprise he finds Beckham sitting on the bed looking down at something in his hands.

“Beck?” Harry walks closer to him. “What are you doing here?”

At first, Beckham doesn’t say anything, but then he slowly lifts his head up and Harry can see the unshed tears in his eyes.

“Beckham, baby, what’s wrong?” Harry immediately is by his side, wrapping an arm around him.

“Are you and dad getting back together?” Beckham, asks with a shaky voice.

Harry furrows his eyebrows. “What? What would make you think that?”

“This." Beckham thrusts a piece of paper in his hands.

Harry looks down at the note, and sees that it’s addressed to him, from Louis.

“Where did you find this?” Harry asks, carefully taking the note.

“I promise I wasn’t snooping. I was just curious because of what happened this morning and decided to look for myself. When I came in here, I found this note on the bedside table,” Beckham explains.

Harry traces Louis’s handwriting with his index finger, carefully reading each word he wrote.

Good morning H.

I’m sorry that you had to wake up alone this morning, but my agent called saying that there was something I needed to do before the presser today.

I thought about waking you up, but you looked too peaceful and you probably would have slapped me if I woke you up at 5 o’clock in the morning.

I also just wanted to tell you that last night meant a lot to me and I hope that you don’t regret it. I know we have a lot to talk about and we definitely still have a lot to fix, but I’m willing to put the effort in. I know that I’ve been difficult and I know I’ve hurt you, and I can never ask you to forgive me, but I want to make it up to you even if it’ll take my whole lifetime.

I’ll do anything to fix what I've broken, just give me a chance, please.

-Louis

“So, are you?” Beckham’s voice startles him a little, making him jump.

“Am I what?”

“Are you getting back together with dad?” Beckham asks, with hopeful eyes.

Harry looks down at his son and sees all the emotion written on his face.

Beckham has been through a lot and he will never admit it, but it was really hard for him when Harry and Louis got a divorce.

He remembers his face when they broke the news to him and it broke Harry’s heart seeing him like that.

Harry never wants to see that look on any of his children’s faces ever again.

“Beck,” Harry said gently. “I’m going to be completely honest with you here; I don’t know, but he and I are trying to work through some things. It’s just really complicated.”

Beckham smiles, but there’s a tightness around it. “I hate when you say that.”

“What?” Harry asked, confused.

“That’s its complicated. I mean it’s clear to everyone that you two still love each other so what’s so complicated about that?” Beckham looks at him with determination. “If two people are in love, then shouldn’t they be together?”

Harry visibly swallows.

The way Beckham explains it was so innocent and simple, but can it really be that way?

“It’s not that easy Beckham,” Harry tries to reason with him.

“It’s not easy because you two don’t make it easy. I know that I’m still a kid and I won’t understand or whatever, but I know that what you and dad have is special and you shouldn’t just let that go.”

Harry opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He has no idea how to respond to that.

Due to his lack of response, Beckham continues.

“But I also understand how hard this is for you guys, so no matter what you guys choose, we’ll support you no matter what." Beckham leans into him.

Harry truly did have the best kids.

“Thank you Beck, and don’t worry about this.” Harry lifts the note up. “I’ll take care of it.”

Beckham smiles and nods before getting up and leaving.

Harry takes a few seconds to compile his thoughts.

He only has to take one more look down at the note, to make up his mind; Harry needed to find Louis.

He had no idea where he was, but he needed to find him.

Harry takes off and practically jogs to the front door, picking up his car keys from the counter as he passes.

Without even looking up, Harry pulls the front door open with his left hand while his right hand was preoccupied with trying to fish out his phone out of his pocket.

As Harry steps forward, he hits something solid.

Harry stumbles back a bit, but thankfully catches his footing just in time before he fell on his ass.

When Harry looks up, he sees Louis standing there, rubbing his forehead that collided with his chin.

“Louis,” Harry said, almost like he was in awe.

“Fucking hell H,” Louis groans. 

Harry suppresses a chuckle. “Sorry.”

Louis waves him off, saying it was alright, before looking up at Harry.

As he looks up, Harry sees something in Louis’s eyes. Something Harry’s only seen a handful of times.

That look, is the same look that Louis has right before an important game; it was the same look he had when he asked if they could adopt; and it was the same look he had when he asked Harry to marry him.

There was a fire inside those eyes.

“Harry, we need to talk,” Louis said in a determined voice.

“I know,” Harry agrees. “Look Louis I-"

“Hold up let me rephrase that,” Louis stops him. “I’m going to talk and you’re going to listen.”

Harry widens his eyes at how demanding Louis sounded.

It was a side of Louis that Harry rarely saw, but it always managed to turn him on. 

“Um okay." Harry walks over to the sofa and sits down because he honestly was a little weak in the knees.

Harry watches Louis pace back and forth, before he stops in front of Harry with his arms crossed.

“I don’t know what happened between the time we slept together and now, but whatever you think I did or didn’t do, I’m sorry. I don’t care to know why you were mad at me, I’m just sorry.”

“Louis I-"

“Don’t interrupt me H, because I need to get this out before I lose my shit,” Louis said, clearly stressed out. “I don’t know what happened, but I do know that last night meant something for both of us.

“I know I was an idiot when I didn’t fight for us back then, but I’ll be totally brainless if I repeat the same mistake.”

Harry feels like his heart was about to explode and he wanted so bad to just wrap Louis up in his arms and just forget the last two years of being divorced, but he knew he had to let him finish whatever he wanted to say.

“I always tried to forget about you, even started dating someone who was the complete opposite of you to try to get you out of my system, but it didn’t work. In the back of my head I knew that it wasn't going to work because that person could never be you.

“I knew from the time we got the divorce that I was probably going to be alone for the rest of my life because I knew you were it for me. I didn’t want anyone else and I made my peace with that.

Louis takes a seat next to Harry, making sure to leave a tiny gap in between them.

“I signed the divorce papers to make you happy, but I realize now that I need to put my own happiness first, and you’re that for me Harry. You and the kids are what make me happy and I need all of you in my life to feel complete.

“I know that you might not feel the same, but I needed to tell you this because I cannot go on knowing that you might think I gave up on us. I wanted to fight back then, but I was too weak and scared.”

Louis pauses to take out something from his pocket and reveals the card the kids made for him. “This picture"-Louis points at the picture of them-"made me realize that I can't just give up on this. You are my family Harry, and I’m going to try my hardest to win you back because I don’t think I can survive another moment without you.”

Louis breathes out, after getting everything off his chest and sinks back into the couch. He was slightly out of breath, and his heart was beating quickly.

He was more nervous to say all of this to Harry than his retirement speech that he delivered on live air to thousands of people.

Harry gulps, feeling his throat get dry. “I-I read your note.”

Louis looks confused before he remembers what he’s talking about. “Oh okay, so is that what you’re upset about?”

Harry pulls out the note from his pocket and looks at Louis. “No Louis, I mean I just read it now.”

“What?” Louis looks at him confused. “But I wrote that for you in the morning.”

“I know,” Harry sighs. “I didn’t see it until now.”

“You what?!” Louis sits up.

“I was in a rush this morning and I completely missed it,” Harry tries to explain himself.

Louis eyes widen with realization. “So, you thought I left you this morning without saying anything?”

Harry quietly nods his head. “That’s why I acted like a prick. I thought you left me.”

“Oh baby,” Louis lets the nickname slip. “I would never have done that. Last night was incredible, I wouldn’t just leave you without an explanation.”

Harry hides his face in his hands, ashamed. “I know, I'm sorry. I should have trusted you.”

Louis slips off the couch, onto the floor and kneels in front of Harry, putting his hands on Harry’s knees to provide some comfort.

“H, look at me.” Louis tries to coax him out from behind his hands.

It works since Harry slowly peels his hands away from his face.

Louis smiles as soon as he sees those gorgeous green eyes. “You don’t have to be sorry. I should have called or texted or something, and plus I haven’t really given you much reason to trust me.”

Harry smiles sadly at him. “Still I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“We’re really bad at communicating huh?” Louis takes Harry’s hand in his.

Harry focuses on his warmth. “Yeah, but we can fix that right?”

“I'm willing to try, if you are.”

Harry nods his head. “I am, but I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything." Louis looks up at him with earnest.

“I want you to promise me that you won’t hurt me again." Harry takes a breath. “The pain I felt the first time almost destroyed me. I-I don’t think I can go through something like that again."

Louis cradles both of Harry’s hands in his. “I promise you, I will never hurt you again. I’m sorry that I even hurt you in the first place.”

“Me too." Harry frees his right hand to caress Louis by his cheek. “Is it too early to kiss you?”

“I would say it’s a little too late actually.”

Harry rolls his eyes fondly, but guides Louis up until his forehead was touching his.

“You’re so annoying you know that?” Harry smirks at him.

“Yeah, yeah, now shut up and kiss me already."

Harry presses his lips against his, effectively shutting both of them up.

They smile into the kiss, making it a little awkward but none of them seem to mind.

“By the way, why is there yellow handprints on the walls?” Louis asks against his mouth.

Harry laughs. “I’ll tell you later." He drags Louis up to kiss him a little bit harder.

Louis kneels between Harry’s legs to get a better angle, and Harry leans down to deepen the kiss, keeping one hand placed on Louis’s cheek.

They were so lost in one another that they don’t notice Olivia coming in.

“Oh my god!”

Louis and Harry immediately separate. 

“Oh my god!” Olivia repeats one more time, her eyes wide.

Louis stands up and puts his hands out front of him, to try to calm their daughter down.

“Liv, calm down sweetheart.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Y-You two were just kissing!”

Olivia’s yelling must have been heard throughout the house because the next thing they knew, Beckham was sprinting toward his sister.

“Olivia are you okay? I heard yelling.”

“Dad and Papa were just snogging!” Olivia points over to the two men, who were blushing uncontrollably at being caught.

Beckham turns to them. “You were?”

Harry grins awkwardly. “Um yes?”

It takes a second, but a smile soon spreads on to Beckham’s face. “I knew it!”

Beckham suddenly barrels into Louis and practically jumps into his arms, causing Louis to go off balance and stumble back into the couch.

“Wait, knew what? What the hell is going on here?” Olivia looks at all of them with frantic eyes.

“Dad and Papa are getting back together!” Beckham responds excitedly.

“They’re what?!”

“Alright let’s just pause for a moment.” Louis pulls Beckham off his lap and places him in between Harry and him. “Come here Liv.”

Olivia sits herself next to her brother.

Louis looks over at Harry, signaling him that he should take the lead on this.

Harry nods. “I really don’t know how to start this, so how about you guys ask the questions and we’ll answer it truthfully.”

“Are you two actually back together?” Olivia asks right away.

Harry and Louis make eye contact, both unsure on how to answer that.

“Um, not exactly,” Harry says carefully. “This is all very new and we’re still working things out, but I think we're both hoping it will?” 

Louis gives him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, we do.”

“So, how long has this been going on?” Beckham asks the question this time.

“Not long at all,” Harry admits. “We actually just got on the same page today so…”

“Wow so this literally just happened?” Olivia said.

“Basically yeah.” Louis shrugs his shoulders. “But, it’s been a long time coming. I knew that your papa was going to come back to me,” he says with a cocky smile.

Harry scoffs. “Oh really? Because the way I remember is that you’re the one who came to me with your whole sappy spiel about how I’m your happiness,” he mocks him fondly.

Louis’s face turns bright red. “Hey, I was trying to be sincere.”

Harry almost coos at how adorable his pout was. “Oh baby, I’m only teasing.” Harry reaches over his kids’ heads and grabs Louis by this neck to peck him on the lips.

“Okay stop being all gross." Olivia breaks the two apart.

“Oh grow up Liv." Beckham rolls his eyes.

Harry looks down at his son and he doesn't remember the last time he looked this happy. There was a huge smile on his face, dimples on full display, and his eyes were practically glowing. 

“So who’s going to tell Mila?” Olivia asks.

Harry purses his lips to the side. “Do you even think she knows we got a divorce?”

When they told the kids they were getting a divorce Mila was too young to understand what any of that meant. She probably didn't even sense anything was wrong since Harry and Louis kept the arguing and fighting away from her. 

Louis chuckles. “I don’t think she has a clue. She’s still too young to understand.”

On cue, Mila comes wobbling in, with her stuffed elephant clutched in her arms.

Without saying anything, she climbs into Harry’s lap and cuddles herself into his chest.

Harry kisses her on top of her head. “Hi Mila.”

“Hi papa.”

“Mila guess what?” Beckham takes her attention. “Papa and dad are getting back together.”

Mila looks at her brother blankly, not knowing what the heck he was talking about.

“Dadda." Mila looks over at Louis. “I made art!” She points excitedly at the messy yellow paintings. 

Everyone stays quiet for a while, before bursting out in laughter.

Harry on instinct opens his arms, for a group hug and his family immediately respond, squeezing in so everyone can fit.

It’s been a while since Harry and Louis have felt this whole. It felt like everything was back to how it was supposed to be.

Harry catches Louis’s stare with his own and they share a smile, silently signaling to each other that no matter what happens, they were going to be alright.

Louis mouths, “I love you,” over the heads of the kids and it takes Harry by surprise.

After getting over the initial shock, Harry smiles so wide, his face might break. “I love you too,” he mouths back.

It wasn’t going to be easy, and there were definitely going to be some difficulties in the way, but that’s what happens when two people are madly in love with each other.

They were broken, but little by little they fixed each other, and in the end nothing could tear them apart.

Fin.

Chapter Text

3 MONTHS LATER

Louis was officially moving back in, and not just in the guest house. He was moving back in their house.

Even though they’ve only been dating for 3 months, Harry and Louis were more than ready to move things along. Harry was actually the one to suggest that Louis should move back in, since they’ve been sleeping back in their bed again anyway. 

The kids obviously were all on board with the whole idea, even volunteered to help move Louis’s things, which their parents obviously didn't object to. 

Harry was just going through some of Louis’s old stuff, sorting it in their room. Most of it was old junk like forgotten articles of clothing or broken random charging cables. Occasionally Harry would find newspaper clippings that Louis had cut out from over the years that highlighted his career, which Harry made sure keep so he could frame them later. 

There was one last box left to unpack and Harry sighs in relief. His back was starting to cramp up, and his bum was going numb from sitting on the ground.

As he opens it, it was like all the other boxes except that there was a smaller wooden box inside.

Harry carefully takes it out and places it in front of him on the floor. He hesitates for just a minute before letting his curiosity get the better of him.

He flips open the box and a smile grows on Harry's face as he looks at the contents that were hidden inside.

It seemed to be some sort of memory box, but it was only filled with pictures of Harry and Louis.

Harry takes each one and studies them closely. Each picture showed a glimpse of happy memories within their lives, that Harry remembers vividly. Once Harry gets to the last one, he notices two rings sitting at the bottom of the box.

One was their wedding ring and the other, was his engagement ring.

Harry carefully lifts what was once his engagement ring and holds it in his palm. He remembers giving it back to Louis after the divorce; remembers how empty he felt when he didn’t have it.

When he holds it up to light, the emeralds in the ring still shined like the first time he laid his eyes on it. 

Harry looks at the ring mesmerized, and without thinking puts it in on his ring finger.

Still a perfect fit.

While he was busy admiring the ring on his finger he doesn’t hear Louis come in.

“I can't believe it still fits." Louis smiles softly at him. while he leans against the doorway. 

Harry gets startled and quickly squeezes the ring off. “Um I’m sorry. I just found it in here and...wait did you just call my fingers fat?” Harry pouts. 

Louis's eyes widen. "No, I-I just thought since it's been a long time that-"

"I'm kidding Lou." Harry chuckles, earning him a glare from his boyfriend. 

Harry was too busy laughing that he doesn't even have time to react when Louis tackles him on the floor and starts tickling him.

"L-Lou!" Harry gasps between laughs. "Stop! P-Please!" 

Louis eventually lets up, but keeps straddling Harry, preventing him from getting up. 

"You're such a little shit." Louis smiles down at him, his hands planted on either side of Harry's head. 

Harry wraps his arms around Louis's neck and brings him down for a kiss. "Yeah, but I'm your little shit."

Louis bites Harry's bottom lip, causing Harry to moan into his mouth. 

Harry drags his hands down Louis's back until he has his hands on his bum, pushing him down until he was right against him.

They snog on the floor for a few minutes, getting lost in one another. 

Harry is so distracted by Louis's tongue, that he doesn't feel Louis's hand blindly feeling around the floor for the forgotten ring. 

Louis starts to mumble something against his mouth, but Harry couldn't make it out.

"What?" Harry takes his lips off of Louis's but reattaches them to his neck.

"I said," Louis pauses to let out a gasp. "Marry me."

Harry's lips freeze just behind Louis's ear. He backs his head away slowly, looking directly at the older man. "What?"

Louis lifts the ring so it was right in their faces. "Marry me."

Harry looks at the engagement ring cross-eyed before shoving Louis off of him so he can stand up. "Shut up, that's not funny." 

Instead of standing up with him, Louis stays down and gets on one knee, the ring firmly pinched between his fingers. 

Harry looks down at him like he’s insane. “Louis what the hell are you doing?”

“Proposing, duh,” Louis said like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Are you crazy? We’ve only been together for 3 months!”

“Technically we were boyfriends for 3 years, then husbands for 10 years, then sadly ex-husbands for about 2 years, and now we’ve been boyfriends again for 3 months. Don’t act like we haven’t known each other our whole lives.”

“Look I know that Louis,” Harry whines. “But doesn’t this seem too soon?”

Louis shakes his head. “Nope, I’ve been wanting to do this since we agreed to get back together. I actually wanted to skip the whole boyfriend phase, but proposing to you right after we made up felt cliché.”

Harry stares at him for a long time. “Are you sure about this?”

“Very sure.” Louis leans down to kiss his hand.

Harry bites his bottom lip, his eyes steadily on Louis. “Ask me again then.”

Louis smirks. “Harry Styles will you marry me?”

“No, but-"

Louis’s smirk disappears and his eyebrows shoot up. “No?!”

Harry giggles at the confused look on his boyfriend’s face. “I mean I want to marry you, but I kind of wanted to change things up a bit.”

“Um okay?” Louis was officially confused.

Harry doesn’t try to clarify, instead runs to their closet. 

Louis stays on his knee, a little stunned at the turn of events.

When Harry comes out, he’s hiding something behind his back.

“When you proposed to me, it was one of the best days of my life.” Harry slowly walks over as Louis carefully watches him. “I remember how special and ecstatic I felt when I saw you drop on one knee, and I want you to feel the same way.”

Louis, still confused, watches as Harry kneels on one knee in front of him, basically mirroring him. 

Harry clears his throat. “Um can you stand?”

It takes him a while, but Louis eventually gets it when he sees a ring in Harry’s hand. “Oh my god, are you proposing to me?”

“I’m trying.” Harry blushes.

Louis stands up on shaky legs and can already feel tears gathering in his eyes. “When the hell did you buy a ring?”

Harry bites his bottom lip. “Um a week after we got back together,” he admits shyly.

Harry knew that eventually he and Louis were going to get married again, so he immediately bought a ring because he wanted to be the one who proposed this time, but of course he wasn’t planning to do it this soon.

He wanted to wait a bit, but he has no problem with speeding it up just a little.

“You’re insane.” Louis laughs through his tears. “It’s really gorgeous. Are those sapphires?”

“Uh yeah, they um reminded me of your eyes, and I thought it fit since you bought me a ring with emeralds that reminded you of my eyes. It’s really cheesy and kind of cliché, but I thought it was nice, but we can always return it if-”

“Harry,” Louis cuts off his rambling. “I love it, now can you just get on with the proposal?”

Harry mumbles out a sorry, and looks up at the beautiful man in front of him. “Um so I’m probably not going to be as good at this as you were, but I’ll try my best.”

“Well I’m going to say yes either way so it doesn’t really matter.” Louis laughs, tears glistening in the light.

This was why Harry loved this man.

Harry smiles up at him. “Louis, I have never met another man who makes me want to love and choke him at the same time.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “That a new kink babe?”

Harry playfully slaps him on the leg, but there’s a smile on his face as he continues. “But no matter how many fights we get into, we always find a way to work it out. I know we have made a lot of mistakes along the way, but us together was never one of them.

“We kind of screwed up the first time, but I know for a fact that it won’t be like that again because I won’t let it happen.” Harry gently holds Louis’s hand in his. “We always say it’s you and me against the world and that has always been true. I am so in love with you Louis Tomlinson. I can’t imagine living my life without you ever again, so will you marry me, one last time?”

At this point, both men were freely crying, neither one caring how awful they looked.

“Of course I will marry you.” Louis’s face breaks out in a large smile.

Harry is so overwhelmed with happiness he almost forgets to place the ring on Louis’s finger.

Once the ring was securely over his finger, Louis drags Harry up by his collar and smashes his lips against his. It was not the prettiest kiss, since they’ve been crying for several minutes, but they didn’t seem to mind all the tears and the snot.

Harry take his lips off his fiancé for a second. “Oh and by the way yes, I’ll marry you as well.”

“Wow that was easy.” Louis chuckles, pushing the ring onto Harry’s finger; right back where it belonged. “I didn’t even have to say anything.”

“You don’t need to.” Harry hugs him by his waist, clutching him close. “I would marry you 10 more times if I could.”

“Yeah?” Louis smiles up at him, circling his arms around Harry’s neck.

“Mhm, I don’t want to do this with anyone else but you. You’re it for me, for good this time.”

“I like the sound of that.” Louis leans up on his toes to kiss behind his ear. “So you ready to be a Tomlinson again?”

A shiver goes down Harry’s spine. “I always was.”

TWO YEARS LATER

“For fuck sakes.” Louis groans as he fans the smoke alarm with a pillow.

This is what he gets for trying to cook by himself. He honestly should just be banned from the kitchen.

His family at the moment were out shopping, and Louis decided to be a good husband and father and make them lunch before they got here, which clearly was a mistake.

Louis left the chicken on the stove for only 5 minutes to clean up the dining table, and then the next thing he knew the fire alarm is going off.

By the time Louis got in the kitchen, there was smoke everywhere and somehow the chicken was burnt to a crisp. Turns out he left the stove on a little too high.

“I’m never cooking again,” Louis grumbles, his arm was starting to ache and the stupid alarm still wasn’t turning off.

As Louis was preoccupied with this disaster, he hears the front door opens.

“Louis?” Harry calls out, concern clearly in his voice.

“In the kitchen!” Louis shouts.

Harry comes in right away, eyes wide as he surveys the chaos. “What happened, are you okay?”

“I burnt the chicken.” Louis pouts.

Harry puts his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

Louis glares at him. “If you laugh at me, I’ll make you eat the burnt chicken for lunch.”

Harry keeps his mouth shut and walks over to Louis to relieve him from fanning the smoke alarm.

“Here let me do this, while you go open the windows,” Harry suggests.

Louis opens all the windows and that seems to clear the smoke in no time and the alarm finally shuts off.

“Fuck.” Louis sighs, putting his head down on the counter. “I suck at being a housewife.”

It’s already been two years since Louis retired, but he’s still not used to being at home almost every day.

He recently became part-owner for Arsenal FC which was amazing, but it didn’t really require him to leave the house unless for meetings or press conferences.

So, Louis has been trying to adapt to being a stay-at-home dad, which meant he had more responsibilities to cook and clean. He’s mastered the cleaning part, but not so much the cooking.

“It’s alright baby." Harry hugs him from behind. “It was nice of you to try to cook for us.”

“But now we don’t have lunch." Louis stands up straight and leans back against his husband, resting his head against his chest.

“Don’t worry about that, we brought home pizza.”

Louis turns around in his arms and pecks him on the lips. “You’re the best.”

“I know." Harry sighs against his mouth. “Come on, let’s go eat.”

Before Harry can get away, Louis pulls him back. “Oh, guess what tomorrow is.”

Harry immediately knows what he’s talking about. “Don’t even say it Louis, you know how much I hate it when you bring it up.”

Louis smirks mischievously. “It’s our-”

Harry covers his mouth with his hand. “I’m being serious Lou, don’t say it.”

Louis yanks Harry’s arm, freeing his mouth. “Our divorce anniversary!”

Harry glares at the smaller man. “I hate you.”

“Oh come on H, it’s part of our history, we shouldn’t ignore it.”

Harry disagrees, he rather forget that ever happened actually.

“Let’s just go eat yeah?” Harry gets out of from Louis’s grasp and walks into the dining room.

----------

Louis was bored out of his mind.

He thought the management side of football was going to be interesting and actually fun, but all he’s been doing so far was attend meetings and fill out paper work.

Don’t get him wrong, he appreciates the new position, but it was completely different from actually playing the game.

Louis doesn’t even remember what the meeting was called for. One second they were talking about a potential trade with Liverpool and then the next they’re discussing the need for new uniforms.

As the voices around him drone on, Louis's focus was out the window, watching the wind blow against the leaves and the strange cloud shapes passing in the sky.

“Mr. Tomlinson.”

Louis looks up and finds his secretary standing at the door.

“I told you just to call me Louis, Isabel.” Louis still was not used to having his own secretary, but he very much appreciated her because he honestly would be so lost without her.

“Sorry,” Isabel apologizes. “Um, your husband is on the phone and he would like to speak to you.”

Louis silently thanks Harry for the intrusion, he was starting to get a little stir crazy in there.

“Of course, gentlemen if you will excuse me.” Louis stands up and heads to his office.

Louis leans back against his desk and picks up the phone. “Thank god you called. I was starting to get a little crazy in my meeting.”

Louis waits for Harry to respond, but all he gets is silence. He even takes a moment to look down to make sure he has the right line.

“Harry?” Louis said again. 

“Do you think this is funny?” Harry’s voice comes through cold and hard.

“Um, no?” Louis didn’t really know how to answer that.

Louis hears a long sigh on the other side. “If this was some sort of joke Louis, I’m not laughing.”

“Baby, what are you talking about?”

“The flowers Lou. Those stupid flowers.”

“Flowers? What flowers are you…Oh wait the sunflowers I got delivered to you? Do you not like them or something?”

“The flowers are not the problem Louis! It’s the note and the balloon that you attached to them!”

“Oh.”

So, Louis may have sent a flower telegram to Harry’s work with a message saying, “Happy Divorce Anniversary” and he may have added a balloon with the same message printed on it. In Louis’s head it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

“All my co-workers saw it Louis, do you know how embarrassed I felt?”

“Why are you embarrassed? They all know we got a divorce, it’s not a secret.”

“Yeah, but normal divorced couples don’t usually celebrate the day they got divorced, especially when said couple are married again!”

“Okay, I can see why you’re upset, but come on, I thought it was nice.”

“Nice?! You…You thought that was-”

Louis hears someone from the background call Harry’s name, diverting his attention. There’s mumbling on the other side, so Louis plays around with the pen sitting on his desk as he waits.  

“Look I have to go,” Harry comes back after a few seconds. “They need me on set.”

“Okay…are you mad at me?” Louis asks.

“A little bit." Harry sighs. "But we’ll talk more at home okay?”

“Yeah okay." Louis scuffs the bottom of his shoe on the floor. “I love you.”

“I love you too baby, see you later.”

Once the line went dead, Louis takes a deep breath before walking back into his meeting.

The more Louis thought about it, the more he felt bad for embarrassing Harry. Louis just thought that since it's been two years, that it was okay to joke about the divorce, but maybe two years wasn't enough time. 

The divorce was a sore topic, and even though they both agreed it was a much needed "break" in their relationship, it was still a shitty time.

Before Louis went home, he decided to stop by the store to buy Harry a gift to make up for the trouble he caused.

Louis looked at various rings and necklaces, trying to find one that Harry might like. Eventually, at the end, Louis just decided to buy him this red silk headscarf he found.

Since Harry’s been growing out his hair again and the curls have fully grown back, he’s been wearing headscarves again, and Louis has been drooling over his husband just a bit more lately.

Don’t get him wrong, Louis loves every version of Harry, but those head scarves just hit a little different.

When Louis gets into his car to drive home, he gets a text from Harry.

Harry: Going to be a little bit late today. Mind picking up dinner?

Louis texts back with a thumbs up, thinking nothing of it since he knows Harry’s been busy lately because of the start of a new football season.

Eventually, Louis just settles on Domino’s and orders what he can remember from what Harry and the kids usually get.

As Louis pulls into their driveway he sees all three of his children outside, kicking a ball around together.

Before Louis goes to greet them, he gathers Harry’s present and the food, and puts it inside the house.

The kids were so focused on their game that they didn’t notice Louis come outside.

Louis takes this opportunity to sneak up behind Mila, who was concentrating on the ball beneath her feet. Olivia and Beckham see him, but Louis holds a finger to his lips, silently telling them to be quiet.

Mila was just about to kick the ball when Louis decides to snatch her up and spin her around. 

“Dad!” Mila laughs, as she let's herself get swung in the air.

Louis spins her around one more time, before letting her go. He remembers when he could spin her as many times as he could, but now since Mila has gotten bigger and Louis has gotten older, two spins were his limit.

“How about we play a 3 v 1? You guys against me?” Louis suggests.

“You sure about that old man?” Beckham teases, with a smirk.

Louis decides to let his son off with that one. “Oh it’s like that now huh? How about this, you guys have 5 minutes to steal the ball away from me, but if you don’t then you guys have to clean the whole house.”

“And if we win?” Olivia crosses her arms in front of her chest.

Louis thinks for a minute before coming up with an answer. “Then I’ll be your chauffeur for you and your friends for a week.”

This catches Olivia and Beckham’s attention right away.

“And all we have to do is take the ball away from you?” Olivia asks.

Louis juggles the football with his feet with no effort. “Yup, in five minutes.”

Olivia and Beckham share a look before looking back at their dad. “Deal.”

5 Minutes Later

“I win!” Louis puts his arms up and runs around the pitch like he just won another Championship.

His kids on the other hand were exhausted and bent over with their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

“How’s that for an old man?” Louis smiles, looking down at his exhausted son.

Louis was originally going to let them win, but Beckham’s comment earlier made him change his mind.

“I don’t understand how you can still move like that.” Beckham breathes heavily.

“Maybe you guys are just bad?” Louis teases, trying to rile up his kids and it looked like it worked since now Louis was being chased.

His kids eventually catch up to him and tackle him to the grass.

Louis lands on his back with a groan as his kids all pile on top of him.

“Oi! I’m still in my good shirt!” Louis shouts.

“Well it’s not good anymore.” Beckham laughs, pointing out the dirt stains there were now on Louis’s white button up.

“Oops sorry dad,” Olivia apologizes.

Louis waves it off. “It’s okay, it’s just a shirt.”

A shirt that Harry gifted to him and he’s probably going to get scolded by his husband for getting it all dirty.

“Dad, can you teach me those tricks?” Mila asks, while perched on top of Louis’s stomach.

“Of course sweetheart. Going to be a footie player like me and your big brother?”

Mila nods her head excitedly.

To Harry and Louis’s surprise, Mila has recently taken an interest in football. Of course, Louis was more than thrilled, and enrolled her into a local footie club almost right away.

“And what’s going on here?”

Louis looks up and finds Harry walking towards them.

“Papa come sit with us!” Mila excitedly waves him over.

Harry doesn’t think twice and sits down right next to Louis, despite being in a suit. Mila climbs over and plops herself on Harry’s lap.

“How was work papa?” Beckham asks.

“It was fine, did an interview with Uncle Liam actually.”

“Oh yeah? How is he by the way? It’s been a while since we saw him.”

“He’s good, really good,” Harry answers his son. “He’s just been a little busier since he took on the captain position.”

Louis smiles down at the ground at that. He remembers the number of emotions that passed on Liam’s face when he told him he was going to be the new captain.

After a little convincing, Liam eventually took the position, and has been doing a phenomenal job so far.

“Is uncle Liam and uncle Niall still coming to my footie game?” Mila asks.

Harry kisses her on cheek, unable to control himself. “Of course sweetheart. They'd never miss your first football game.”

They sit there for a few minutes longer, just chatting away, before Harry decided that they should get ready for dinner.

As they stand up, Louis notices a brown package on the ground. It was rectangular in shape, thin and fairly large.

“Oh look, papa got us a pressie!” Mila shouts, spotting the package at the same time.  

Harry quickly gets to it before the kids do. “Oh no this is not for you guys. It’s actually for your dad.”

“For me?” Louis raises his eyebrows.

Harry nods his head.

Before Louis can ask any more questions about it, Harry ushers everyone inside the house for dinner.

Dinner was a little quieter than usual tonight. Louis still felt awful for what he did, and he didn’t really know where he stood with Harry at the moment.

Thankfully, Harry was the one who led most of the conversations, even including Louis in some of them.

If Harry was mad, he was doing an amazing job at hiding it.

When dinner was done, the kids went upstairs to get ready for bed, while Harry and Louis cleaned up.

Louis leans against the counter, eyeing Harry cautiously as he starts to hum while washing the dishes.

“So I-”

Harry shushes him before Louis can even get out what he wanted to say. “No talking Lou. How about you go open a bottle of wine and pour us some glasses yeah?”

Louis stands there, frozen for a minute. “Um okay?” he answers after a few minutes.

Not knowing what Harry was planning, Louis does as he was asked and pours out two glasses of wine and places them on the coffee table.

After doing that, Louis sits back on the couch, waiting for his husband to finish up.

“You opened up the expensive kind I see.” Harry comes around the couch and plops down right next to Louis, grabbing a glass and taking a sip.

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask what kind you wanted. Do you want me to open up another one?”

Harry shakes his head. “No, this is great actually, thank you."

Louis calms down and grabs his own glass and takes a big gulp. He didn’t know what Harry was playing at, but it was putting him on edge.

A few more minutes of silence drags on, and Louis suddenly had enough of it. 

“I’m sorry!” Louis blurts out, making Harry freeze with his wine glass halfway to his lips. “I know what I did was stupid and dumb and I wasn’t thinking. I never meant to embarrass you or make you upset. I know how sensitive today is, and I should have been more considerate. We can just forget all about it, if you want.”

Louis was saying all of this while looking down at his hands. When he finally looks up, Harry was just staring at him with an amused look.

“Okay,” Harry said.

“Okay?” Louis’s eyebrows pull together.

Harry shrugs his shoulder. “Yeah, I forgive you. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that on the phone earlier. I guess I was just angry at the fact that you thought that was okay.”

“I know, I honestly thought that it could be like a funny thing, but I was wrong.”

“Well our divorce was never funny,” Harry said seriously.

“Yeah I know, but I thought, you know since it’s been two years that it was okay to like joke about it.”

Harry turns his body fully to look at Louis and puts a hand on his thigh. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be okay to joke about it.”

Louis nods his head and patiently waits for Harry to continue.

Talking about their feelings was still a new thing Louis and Harry were still learning. They promised each other they would always talk to each other if something was bothering them and so far it’s been working really well.

Their communication skills have gotten better and they rarely get into fights anymore. Their relationship was thriving and they were continuously trying to get better.

“I know that we needed that divorce,” Harry starts again. "But it just reminds me of probably the worse years of my life, which was when I was apart from you.”

Louis almost swoons at that and he barely manages to keep himself from jumping into his husband’s arms.

“I’m sorry baby,” Louis said again. “I really didn’t mean to upset you. I promise I won’t do shit like that again.”

Harry leans in and pecks him on the lips. “You better not or else I might just have to divorce you again.”

Louis pouts. “Hey, don’t joke like that.”

Harry chuckles as he kisses him again to get rid of his pout. “Sorry, oh and before I forget, I got you this.” Harry pulls out the package from earlier.

“Oh I got you a gift too." Louis stands up and retrieves the scarf that was in a gift bag.

“Did we really get each other divorce anniversary presents?” Harry asked, amused.

“Well actually mines more of an apology gift.” Louis sits back down. “So, why did you buy me a gift?”

“You’ll know when you open it,” Harry answers vaguely.

“Okay, well you open your gift first.” Louis hands him the small gift bag.

"You know you didn't have to buy me an apology gift right?" Harry said.

"Yeah I know, I just wanted to." Louis shrugs.

Harry rolls his eyes fondly, as he takes out the handfuls of tissue paper. When he gets to the bottom, he pulls out the red silk scarf.

“Well isn’t this gorgeous." Harry admires the piece of fabric in his hands, feeling how soft it was.

“It’s not much, but I thought you would like it.”

“I love it baby.” Harry kisses him on the mouth.

Louis hums into the kiss, letting himself get lost in his husband for a minute.

Before it gets too heated, Harry breaks the kiss and hands Louis his own present.

Louis starts unwrapping it and once all the brown paper was off, he looks down at his gift with wide eyes.

“Oh Harry.” Louis could already feel tears building up.

Sitting on his lap was a framed collage of pictures of Louis and Harry.

“This is the reason I was late today,” Harry explains. “I was busy making this.”

Louis looks at the various pictures, finally realizing where they were from. "Oh my god are these my pictures that I've been keeping?"

Harry nods his head. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind. It just felt like a shame to keep all these photos kept hidden in that box."

"Of course I don't mind, I've been meaning to frame them actually." Louis smiles down at the collage, looking at each picture, but he stops when he notices that one of the pictures was in black and white. "Wait, what's this one about?"

It was a colorless image of Louis on the pitch after he missed his game winning goal at the game right after their divorce got finalized. Louis was sitting on the ground, with his head down between his legs, while the other team celebrates in the background.

Harry follows his gaze. "This represents our divorce.”

“Well isn’t that depressing,” Louis comments light heartedly.

“It is, but like you said, our divorce is a part of our history and that will never change, no matter how much I want to forget about it.”

Louis turns his head to smile at him. "I love your mind, you know that."

"I'm kind of brilliant aren't I?" Harry smirks.

Louis kisses him until his smirk disappeared.

Harry giggles into the kiss, but pushes him away. "Wait, you haven't finished looking at all the pictures."

Louis furrows his eyebrows, until he looks down again and sees some more photos following the black and white one. "Oh, I didn't even notice."

"I just thought I would continue our story. Do you want me to tell you why I chose these photos in particular?" Harry asks.

"Please do." Louis lifts the picture frame so it was on top of both of their laps.

Harry points at the first new photo which was a picture of him and Louis on their (second) wedding day.

Louis had a little too much to drink at the reception and had passed out just after the first few songs. Harry found it really endearing, so he took the opportunity to take a selfie with his sleeping husband.

"Oh my god, why did you pick this picture out of everything." Louis laughs, his cheek slightly reddening.

"I think you look cute," Harry said.

"I'm drooling," Louis deadpans. 

"Like I said, cute." Harry pinches his cheek, teasingly.

Louis swats his hands away. "Just move on to the next one," he grumbles.

"Okay so, the next one is a little nicer." Harry points to the next picture that was of them on their honeymoon in Japan.

Yes they went to Japan on their honeymoon. Harry and Louis already knew what it was like to go to a beach from their first honeymoon, so they thought they would change it up.

They both haven't been to Japan before, so they thought it would be a good destination for their honeymoon and it definitely was the right decision.

"I can't wait to bring the kids there one day," Louis said.

"Me too, those kids need to experience some culture," Harry comments.

Louis nods his head in agreement. He looks back down to look at more pictures, but instead finds the next spots, blank. "Well I guess we got to the end."

“Not the end," Harry corrects him. “But a new beginning. We still have a lot of memories to make together.”

Louis can’t help the big smile that takes over his face. “I never want to stop making memories with you.”

Harry takes the frame and gently places it on the floor. He straddles Louis on the couch and cups Louis’s face into his hands.

“I love you so much.”

Louis leans his forehead against his. “I love you too.”

“How about we make some new memories right now on this couch?” Harry smirks down at him.

Louis squeezes his hips. “I’m pretty sure we’ve made too many memories on this couch actually.”

“Doesn’t hurt to make some more." Harry hovers his lips right over his husbands, teasing him.

Louis’s self-control runs out and he flips Harry on his back and lays right on top of him, leaving no space between them.

When Louis looks at Harry, he can see his future right in front of him.

He sees them growing grey and old together, watching their kids get married and have kids of their own.

Louis smiles, trying to imagine Harry all wrinkly, with grey hair, and possibly a receding hairline.

“What are you so smiley about?” Harry runs his fingers through Louis’s hair.

“I’m just really happy." Louis sighs, content.

Harry looks up at him, with his eyes practically sparkling. “Does your happy mood have something to do with me?”

Louis stares right back at those same green eyes he fell in love with. “It has everything to do with you.”