Chapter Text
"Harry!" Louis called from their daughter's bedroom. He helped her put her coat on as he did up the large buttons of her duffel coat. Her first day in reception started today, and both Harry and Louis were stressing out. Well, Louis mainly.
"Yes, Boo?" Harry replied, his voice coming from somewhere downstairs. Nearly everything was ready but they only had a few minutes before they had to go.
"Is her lunch ready?" he sighed as he picked up her school bag and checked that nothing had been left out. He did not want her going hungry so he may have overdone it with the food but it was better that she had more than less.
"Yeah! I got it!"
"Good." Louis smiled up at their little girl. "You okay Skylar?”
"Yes, Dad. I'm good!” she said and gave him a big toothy grin.
"That's great," he tiredly grinned. "You're not scared are you?" he muttered, running a hand through her chocolate brown fringe to sweep it out of the way.
"No, I'm a big girl," she giggled which made Louis smile wider. He was so proud of her.
"That you are. You're all grown up and now it's your first day of school. I hope you enjoy today, Sky, you should have fun and try not to be mean to anyone, okay?" Louis said, looking deep into her green eyes. It made him smile at how similar they were to Harry's own eyes. She may have been adopted but she still had many similarities from both of them.
"I won't. I'll be good," Skylar nodded quickly.
Louis smiled. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Daddy's waiting for us," he tilted his head towards the door.
"Yay! Quick, let's go."
Together they went downstairs, hand-in-hand, and they noticed Harry waiting there with a smile on his face. He wore a black suit with a white shirt, a few of the buttons undone, and a blue patterned neckerchief that Louis bought for him as a birthday present. Louis couldn't help but smile back once he thought about how attractive he looked.
"Hello, Lou, Hey Skylar, you ready to go?"
Louis nodded. ”Yeah, Skylar needs to put her shoes on, though."
"Okay, I have her lunch. It has your favourite Sky. There's a sandwich, some yoghurt, a packet of crisps and remember to eat your fruit okay? It's important." Harry said, jokingly pointing a finger at her and Skylar nodded.
"I know Daddy."
"If you need help you can always get the teacher to call us Sky, Okay?” Louis added for reassurance. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze after.
“Okay!"
"Come on, let's go. Otherwise, we'll be late. We don't want you to be late on your first day."
Harry smiled as he watched Louis walk Skylar to her shoes and help put them on her feet. When he got back up, Louis kissed Harry on the lips.
“Eww," they heard Skylar say, and they both laughed to themselves over each other's lips.
"Oh Skylar, you're so cute," he said, pecking his lips one more time before ruffling her slightly curly brown hair. "Come on, to the car we go."
Both of them held her hand as they walked to the car and Louis carefully strapped her into her booster seat. He kissed her once on the forehead just before getting into the car.
The school was only a few minutes drive from their house, which was ideal for them. Harry drove the car, and Louis sat in the back, it was Skylar who asked if he could sit with her and of course he obliged.
"Oh look, we're here Sky. You ready to go inside? I'll take you okay?” Louis said once they pulled up in front of the school.
“Okay," she smiled, but her usual happiness seemed to have deteriorated a bit.
"It's alright, don't worry Love. The school will be just fine. I'll be here to pick you up at 3:30 I promise and then you can tell me about all the fun you've had,” Louis grinned brightly.
Skylar perked up a bit and soon was nodding to what he was saying. "Hey, come on, keep that smile on your face," Louis said as they climbed out of the car. "I'll go with you to your class, but then I'll have to go."
"Okay, Dad.”
A few other parents had their kids with them and they also looked as though they were giving pep talks to their children. Skylar skipped along beside him while they crossed the gravel playground and eventually they arrived in the building. They both walked towards the room which he remembered was her classroom due to the induction evening they had, and already a few children were sitting in a horseshoe shape.
Louis crouched down until he was in front of her face. "Hey, it'll be okay, and you'll be one of the smartest in the group. I promise,” he smiled, pecking her forehead. Skylar nodded. "Hey, give me a kiss,” Skylar giggled before she kissed his cheek as well. "Go have fun."
"Bye Dad,” she shouted before walking into the classroom.
"She's cute," a woman behind him said.
"Yeah, she is,” Louis replied slowly before looking over at the exit of the building. His gaze finally flickered over to her. Her blonde hair looked like it had been shaved, leaving just a small layer of hair.
"What's her name?"
"She's Skylar. Who is yours?" Louis smiled.
"Jonah, the boy with the blonde hair." The woman said as she pointed to her son who was sitting next to Skylar.
Louis hummed. "Cool, umm...I need to go, my fiancé is waiting for me. I may be late for work as well.”
"Oh, okay. I'm Ashley by the way."
"Hi Ashley, I'm Louis,” he smiled at her, beginning to walk towards the playground after they left the building.
“What do you do as a job?” She asked while she walked beside him.
“I’m a secondary school teacher,” he smiled.
Her eyes widened. “Oh wow, that seems tough.”
“It’s not as bad as you may think but I haven’t even started the new school year yet so we’ll wait and see. It is an independent school." Louis shrugged. "What about you?”
“I’m a nurse but sometimes I sing if I have any free time, which is rare."
"I was about to say, you must be a busy person," Louis grinned.
She chuckled. "Yeah but I manage. My girlfriend helps me a lot."
”That’s so cool,” he said just as he got to the end of the playground. "It’s nice to meet you, Ashley."
"And you Louis, I hope Skylar enjoys her first day," she sincerely replied.
"Me too and Jonah as well."
"Yeah, goodbye. Hopefully, I'll see you again soon,” she waved.
"And you."
Louis nodded once they got back to their car and smiled happily when he saw Harry.
"Hi Lou, was she alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine. I think she might make at least one friend today, she was already talking to this boy called Jonah."
"Ah, that's good right?" Harry nodded.
"Yes, ah! Our little girl's growing up. This is so scary." he sighed, biting his lip after.
"I know Boo, this is a new step for her, and it's great! she'll be just fine." Harry smiled while they drove back home. Louis didn’t have anyone to teach for the last period so he could pick her up after school. He only would have had two classes today anyway.
"She will,” Louis nodded reassuringly.
~~~
Louis took a deep breath as he fixed his blue tie. He was getting ready for his date he had with a guy called, Harry or something. Louis was kind of nervous as Niall recommended him and said they were perfect for each other. Dating had been the last thing on his mind, in fact, he had not gone on a date at all for almost a year, so he thought that maybe he would give him a try. Harry was supposed to pick him up at his apartment, and he would be here soon. He had seen a picture of him and he did look handsome, he hoped he had a great personality as well.
He ran a hand through his hair and quickly checked himself. He decided to wait for Harry in his living room, watching a snippet of the news on his TV. He made sure he had everything and would occasionally brush his hair out of his face. He took a deep breath while he thought about all the possible outcomes for the date.
Three minutes later and Louis heard a knock on his door which interrupted his thoughts. His breath hitched and his eyes widened, the nerves were starting to kick in now as he didn't really know what to expect. He took a deep breath before getting up and heading for the door.
Louis opened the door, tilting his head up to look at the guy there, and boy was he handsome in real life. His eyes widened as he looked at the tall lad in front of him.
At first, the man hadn't noticed that the door had opened and he just saw his side profile. A second later he turned his head and looked at Louis. His emerald green eyes were the first thing that he noticed, and he gasped quietly. They were brighter than in the picture and they seemed to hold this certain gleam in them. His pearly white teeth were shown as he smiled down at him and Louis immediately smiled back. Next, he noticed his long brown curly hair that framed his face and he thought that it really suited him. He wore a black suit with a coloured floral shirt that had a few buttons undone. The outline of a black butterfly (moth?) peeked through his shirt and Louis couldn’t help but notice how muscular his body was.
"Hi."
It may have been one word but his voice sounded amazing. It was deep and beautiful, sending shivers down his spine.
"Hey," Louis replied. "I'm Louis."
"I'm Harry, pleased to meet you,” he grinned which made Louis blush.
"And you."
"Are you ready to go?" Harry asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Yes, let's go" Louis nodded.
They arrived at a restaurant only fifteen minutes away from his apartment. It was Harry’s choice and Louis didn’t really mind where he took him, as long as he had fun. Their car journey was filled with small conversation throughout as the radio played softly in the background. From the little that Harry told him, he thought he was quite interesting.
Currently, they were seated at a table having just ordered a drink, and Louis was feeling a bit relaxed now. Harry was a nice guy, conversation flowed easily between them. Every so often he would say a corny joke to him that would get a small laugh out of him, no matter how terrible they were.
"So what do you do Harry?"
"Well, I am currently training to be a lawyer, I only have two more years left, but I'm also an Army reservist."
Louis' eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow, that's amazing, how long have you been part of the army for?"
"About a year and a half now."
"Do you know if you'll get picked soon?"
"No," he chuckled as he looked down at the tablecloth. "You're never really told anything about it, but you get a months notice before it happens."
Louis nodded. "I know Niall is a reserve as well."
Harry smiled. "Yeah, it's how we met. We were in the same camp so we became friends and have stayed together until now,” Louis nodded, actually interested in what he said. "That's awesome. You are vital then aren't you."
Harry chuckled."I guess, in the eyes of the state I am."
Louis smiled, his eyes sparkling with the light. "Thank you for actually agreeing to this date, I'm having fun so far."
Harry looked relieved at the news. "Good! I want you to enjoy yourself."
"I like it here, it has a nice ambience," Louis replied, glancing around the room.
Harry looked at all the hanging lights from the ceiling, and he nodded. "Yeah, it does." Harry soon looked back down at Louis. "How rude of me, I didn't ask what you do?"
"I'm a Drama teacher."
Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise and a smile overtook his face. "Now that's cool. You must have fun lessons all the time!"
"I guess, it is good to see what students can come up with, but some are just plain weird," he said, and Harry laughed just as their waiter came.
"I can imagine."
The waiter pulled out a notepad and then looked at the two with a smile on his face. "So what would you like to order?"
Harry took him home at around ten and escorted him all the way up to the door with their arms linked. He was glad that he went on the date, he must thank Niall later. This must have been one of the best he had ever been on.
“Thank you for today, I enjoyed it,” Louis said as he turned his back to his front door.
“Me too! Maybe we could…Do this again sometime?” Harry asked with a hint of hope in his voice.
“I would like that,” Louis smiled. “You have my number right? So we can text each other,”
Harry nodded with a grin. “Sounds like a plan.”
There was a pause before Louis leaned forward to kiss Harry on the cheek. He was soon pulled into a hug and blushed, eventually relaxing into the body. He had a nice grip but he knew he would have to pull away, it would have been weird if he just stayed attached to him so they could hug longer.
“I hope I can see you again soon alright?”
“Yeah, it’ll be soon,” he grinned.