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But look at this pic and think about Nick with children.
Nick being GOOD with children, paying attention to them, talking to them like they matter, actually being interested in what they say, because he remembers what it was like to be a child around too many adults who don’t take you seriously, who only pretend like they’re listening, who give you just enough attention that you’ll shut up for once.
Nick *being* one of the kids, goofing around and joking and playing while the grown-ups talk about grown-up things. Nick with his hands busy with some knick-knack and his feet kicked out and the same shoes as his little godson.
Nick who keeps talking about babies, wanting his own children because he knows he’d be good with them, but maybe also secretly terrified he’s not ready to be a parent, because he knows being a parent means having to compromise your coolness, it means sometimes having to be the one who puts their foot down and says “no” to silliness instead of encouraging it, it means your kids turning against you instead of looking up to you - he’s seen it happen even to the coolest parents.
And Nick looking around him at all his cool friends and how cool they’ve remained despite also being the uncool parent from time to time, and deciding that, yes, he can live with that, he wants it, he’s ready, and muting the tv and turning to Harry, “You’ll let me be the cool one sometimes, right? You won’t make me be the bad guy?” and Harry going: “What are you on about,” slow and slightly bewildered but fond, so fond, and Nick saying: “When we have kids,” and Harry doing his best not to just smile while Nick goes on, “Because you’re younger and you’re the popstar, so you’re already well ahead of me there, and they’ll love you best anyway because you’ll be on tour instead of yelling at them to do their bloody homework every night, so you have to promise to let me be the cool one once in a while, yeah?”
And Harry nodding earnestly, biting at his lips to keep from erupting with pure joy because this is Nick being serious, but eventually he can’t stop himself and he just laughs because they’ve been skirting the edges of this discussion for ages, careful not to spook each other with it because it’s good, what they have, but it still feels new and fragile, even after years of circling each other, and Harry wants children and he knows Nick does too, in the hypothetical. But this is the first time Nick’s bringing it up like it’s real, like he’s been thinking about it, about the practicalities of raising children together and not just the vague concept of having a baby, and Harry feels like he could burst into tears, or laughter, or maybe both, but he doesn’t. He just pats Nick’s arm and says, “Come on, we both know you’ll be the cool dad, I don’t even have a chance,” and reaches for the remote and unmutes the tv and burrows under Nick’s arm for the rest of the Kardashians.