Archive of Our Own ^beta

Backstage, The O2, London, ten minutes to show time

"Has anyone seen Louis?" Lottie asked, sticking her head into the band dressing room.

"No? Should we have?" Derek, the drummer, replied.

"He should have been in makeup ten minutes ago, but I can't find him," Lottie frowned. "He's not in his dressing room, or the green room, or in catering."

"Try wardrobe?" Melissa suggested, looking up from her guitar.

"Yes! Thanks, love!" Lottie beamed and turned on her heel, jogging off down the corridor. "I swear to god, I'm gonna kick his ass," she muttered under her breath, pushing through the door of wardrobe. "Louis! You in here?"

"Sorry sweet, no sign of him yet," Clarice popped her head around the end of the rails. "Isn't Harry here tonight? Maybe they're together?"

"Oh for fuck sake," Lottie groaned. "I forgot about that." She ran a hand over her face and sighed heavily. "I'll start checking closets and toilets, then. Thanks, love."

She made her way through the winding maze of backstage, stepping around the various bodies that always seemed to be an essential part of the day (although, she'd been around this lifestyle with her brother for the best part of ten years, and she still couldn't quite work out what most of them were actually there for). 

She half ran past the toilets, and her trainers screeched on the linoleum as she stopped suddenly, hearing a noise from inside. Taking a deep breath, she put one hand over her eyes and pushed the door open.

"Lou? Haz? I promise I can't see anything, but if you're about to shag, please stop," she said quickly.

Her only reply was the sound of retching coming from the far cubicle, causing her to look up sharply.

"Louis? Is that you?" Lottie asked, stepping inside and over to the cubicle door. "Are you okay?"

"Does it sound like I'm okay?" Louis' voice mumbled tiredly from inside, groaning as he retched again.

"Well, no, but I could've been wrong," Lottie tried, shrugging. "Do you need me to get anything for you? Do you want me to get someone to delay? You're due onstage in like, five minutes, and you've not gone through wardrobe or makeup yet."

"Thanks for that reminder, Lotts," Louis grumbled. "I'm aware." The toilet flushed and the door opened, revealing a pale and clammy Louis standing there. "I think I'm okay now. C'mon."

"I thought Harry was going to be here?"

"Told him I'd see him afterwards."

"Lou, you look like utter shit," Lottie told him bluntly. "I'm not sure what I can do with makeup to make you look healthy."

"I have faith in you, love," he sighed. "Just get me on the stage. I'll be fine."

"The show must go on, right?" she asked.

"Exactly."

~~~~

Six weeks before

"I can't believe you're leaving me," Harry pouted.

"You make it sound like I'm dumping you," Louis snickered softly, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Harry's lips. "I'm only going on tour."

"For, like, six months, practically," Harry huffed, folding his arms over his chest and glaring.

"That's a little bit of an exaggeration, love."

"No, it's not. I'm gonna miss you so freaking much," Harry sighed heavily. "And I know, I know it was organised ages ago, and I knew it was coming, but that is entirely beside the point, because now it's here I don't want it to happen."

"I promise, I'll have tickets waiting for you whenever you wanna come and see me," Louis reassured him, gently playing with the ends of Harry's hair. "Can we just be happy for tonight though? I don't leave until the morning."

Harry gazed at him for a moment, before he leaned over to kiss Louis firmly.

"You're bloody lucky I love you, Tomlinson," Harry whispered softly. "I'm gonna take you apart tonight."

"Oh, is that a promise, huh?" Louis raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Gonna do me so hard I can feel it for a week?"

"More like a month," Harry smirked. "Which should be around about the time I can get to see you again."

"I'm on board with this plan. Take me to bed."

"So demanding when you know you're gonna get your ass pounded, babe."

"Like you don't love it."

~~~~

Backstage, The O2, London, twenty minutes past show time

"We're on our way!" Lottie yelled at the next security guard who had come to find Louis. "We'll be there in literally five minutes, just stop fucking hassling us!"

The door slammed shut again and she continued rubbing at Louis' back as he retched into a bin again.

"Fuck," he muttered.

"I think you need to see a doctor, love," Lottie told him carefully.

"No, no," Louis protested weakly. "I'll be fine. Just... get me to the damn stage."

Lottie sighed heavily, but slipped her arm back around Louis' waist, guiding him through the door and down the corridor towards the stage, shooing everyone out of their way.

"Take it easy out there, okay?" she told him, as Jim the sound guy fitted Louis up with his in-ear monitors and handed over his mic. "I mean it, Lou. I'll be here waiting. I don't want to have to explain to Harry why I let his boyfriend go out onstage when he's clearly ill."

"You won't have to," Louis told her. "I'll be fine. I can handle this. I've done it a thousand times before."

Lottie didn't reply, just glared at him slightly.

"Love you, Lotts," he added, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. "And I'll see you when I'm done."

"Break a leg or whatever," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Have a good time."

He flashed her a wink and signalled his band to start up. Less than a minute later, he was out in the middle of the stage, singing loudly and bouncing around like there had been nothing wrong. Lottie eyed him warily, half afraid that he was going to wind up re-enacting that scene from Pitch Perfect and soak the first three rows in vomit. She shuddered at the thought before leaning back against the nearest amp to watch the show.

Within forty five minutes, Louis was bounding off stage as the band kept playing.

"What's wrong?" Lottie demanded.

"I need a wee, and to change my tee," he replied breathlessly. "I'm a sweaty mess right now. So the guys are gonna play on for a bit, while I do what I need to do." He looked at her. "Or I would, if my sister would get out of the way?"

"Right, right, sorry," Lottie stepped quickly to one side. "You go to the loo, I'll grab you another tee. White again?"

"Nah, that blue one that Haz likes!" he called over his shoulder as he jogged down the steps.

"Such a sap," she muttered under her breath, going to the rail that was kept backstage for this reason.

After another hour, Louis took his final bow and waved to the audience before he came back to Lottie, wrapping her up in a tight hug.

"Where's that boyfriend of mine?" he asked her.

"Probably on his way backstage now," she told him, before she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Oh jeez, no, the security are being dicks and not letting him through. I'll go down and help."

"Thanks, love," he beamed. "I'll be in my dressing room."

Lottie shook her head and made her way down to the stage access door, where she found Harry arguing with the extremely large bouncer about whether or not his pass was a fake.

"Hey," she greeted them.

"Lottie!" Harry exclaimed. "Please tell me you're here to rescue me."

"I'm sorry... you are?" she asked, tilting her head to one side and resting a hand on her hip, watching him start to get more and more frustrated for a few moments before she burst into laughter. "I'm kidding! Let the man through. Or you'll have to answer to the boss about why you kept his boyfriend waiting on the doorstep."

The bouncer huffed.

"His credentials are fake, ma'am," he told her grumpily.

"Jeez, Mike," Lottie raised an eyebrow. "If they're fake, then so are mine. Cos I was the one to arrange them for him at the same time as I got mine."

"They've been tampered with, ma'am," Mike said firmly.

"Fuck sake," Lottie rolled her eyes and reached out for Harry's pass. "What've you done to them, Haz?"

"They were for Harold Styles," Harry grumbled. "My name's not Harold."

"Fuck sake," Lottie repeated. "I swear, you're just as bad as my brother is." She shook her head. "Mike, just let him through, okay? It's on my head or whatever. But if I go back there without him, I'm sending Louis down to yell at you. Or possibly throw up on you."

"Throw up?" Harry immediately asked, looking worried. "Is he sick? Should I bring him something?"

"You don't need to bring him anything but you, love," Lottie reassured him as she reached out and grabbed his hand. "He's fine now, but he was ill before the gig."

"Why didn't you tell me? I'd have come back before," Harry huffed. "I hadn't noticed the name then."

"He told me not to, and you know what he gets like before a show," she waved a dismissive hand. "He was fine when he came off for a wee, so I'm sure he's gotten over whatever it was."

"I hope so," Harry mumbled, following her down the last part of the corridor to the dressing room.

Lottie pushed the door open and let Harry in past her.

"Lou?" he called, not seeing Louis in the main room. "Lou, you here?"

The sound of a toilet flushing caught his attention over to the door on the other side of the room, which opened to reveal a pale Louis wiping his mouth with a towel.

"Hey, Haz," he said softly, giving a small smile. "You enjoy the show?"

"You were amazing, as always," Harry told him, crossing the room quickly. "But I'm more worried about you right now. What's going on? Lottie said you've been sick?"

"Lottie's got a big mouth," Louis glared at his sister. "But I'm okay, Haz. I promise." He slipped his arms around Harry's waist, resting his forehead against Harry's shoulder for a moment. "I'm just glad you're here. I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too," Harry murmured, bringing his arms up to hold his boyfriend gently. "Love you."

"Love you too," Louis replied, sighing softly.

After a few beats, he quickly pulled away and ducked back into the toilet, slamming the door behind him before the sounds of retching filtered through.

"Louis!" Harry attempted to follow him into the bathroom, but found the door locked. "Fuck sake, Lou. Let me in."

"I'll be okay!" came the reply. "Just... give me like... five minutes."

"Five minutes?" Harry stared at the door incredulously. "I don't think that's going to make much difference. And with how much you're being sick, I really think I should get you to a hospital. I'm a little worried."

The door flew open again.

"I don't need a hospital," Louis insisted. "I'm not really throwing up anything. I just feel like I'm going to."

"And you're dry heaving over the toilet regularly for the fun of it all, I'm sure," Harry said sarcastically. "I'm serious, Louis. I want you to go and see someone. I want to be sure that you're healthy. I'm worried."

Louis gazed at him and then let out a groan.

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "Let's go find a doctor or whatever. Just to put your mind at ease." He grabbed a tracksuit jacket off the back of one of the chairs and shrugged it on. "Although I'm feeling a lot better now. I think it was nerves or something about the gig tonight."

"The gig?" Harry raised an eyebrow sceptically. "The gig, when you've been performing for what, seven years? All of a sudden you're getting stage fright or something?"

"Well, y'know, I knew you were out there," Louis shrugged. "That always ramps up the pressure."

"Right, even though I've been to how many of your gigs over the past four years?" Harry rolled his eyes. "You're being an idiot. Just admit that there's something not quite right, and we'll take it from there."

Louis fell quiet at that, instead just holding onto Harry's hand as they made their way out to the waiting car, asking Chris the driver to take them to the nearest hospital. They had been travelling for a while, before he eventually spoke.

"You're right, and I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I've managed to keep this from everyone, but I've been ill for the past few days. But only right before the show and right after. Then I'm perfectly fine and it's like nothing happened."

"That sounds really bizarre," Harry observed with a frown. "Do you have any idea what it could be?"

"None," Louis shrugged. "That's why I'm leaning towards stage fright or anxiety of some kind. I really can't think of anything else." He sighed heavily. "Tonight is the first time it's ever made me late onstage though. So you're right, I need to get this checked out." He looked up at Harry, his eyes glistening with fear. "What if it's something bad, Haz? What do I do?"

"Hey, hey," Harry said quickly, slipping his arms around Louis and pulling him closer. "It's not going to be anything bad. And if it is, well, we'll deal with it. Let's just take this one step at a time though, and get you checked out first." He pressed a kiss to Louis' temple. "I'm sure you're going to be fine. I have faith."

The car pulled up outside the private hospital and Harry followed Louis out of the car, carefully taking his hand as they walked in through the discreet doors. Louis took a deep breath as he approached the desk.

"Hi there, I was hoping I'd be able to see someone this evening," he began.

"Certainly sir," the receptionist replied. "Are you a patient here already?"

"Um, I think so, my name is Louis Tomlinson," he said quietly.

The receptionist tapped a few keys on her keyboard, peering at her screen before she nodded.

"Yes, sir," she said with a gentle smile. "We already have you on our systems. If you'd like to take a seat in the waiting room to your left, the nurse will be out to see you shortly."

"Thank you," Louis nodded, then glanced at Harry, who carefully guided him through the doors to the waiting room. "I'm so scared," he muttered as they took their seats. "Last time I was in hospital was for Mum."

"I know, love," Harry replied, pressing another kiss to Louis' temple. "But she's okay now, remember?" He gave Louis a reassuring smile. "I know it's scary - hospitals always are - but you're in the best place, and they'll be able to find out exactly what's wrong with you. Then you won't need to worry any more. You can toddle off back on tour, abandon me again, while I wait, chained to the kitchen sink..."

"You're being ridiculous," Louis told him affectionately, chuckling at his overly dramatic boyfriend. "But thank you." He kissed Harry's cheek lightly. "You're helping to distract me, and that's definitely what I need right now."

"I always know what you need, darling," Harry winked.

Before Louis could reply, his name was called from the far door, where a nurse was waiting.

"Can you come with me?" he asked softly, standing slowly.

"I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Lou," Harry said seriously, getting to his feet. "C'mon. Let's go put your mind at ease."

They followed the nurse, who introduced herself as Maria, down the corridor to an examination room.

"Okay, Mr Tomlinson," Maria began.

"Louis, please," Louis interrupted. "Mr Tomlinson makes me feel really old. And this is Harry, he's my boyfriend."

"And you're comfortable with him being here?" Maria checked.

"Yes, definitely," Louis nodded firmly.

"Certainly," Maria nodded once. "Okay, Louis. What seems to be the problem today?"

"Well, it's not really just been today." Louis sighed softly, glancing over at Harry, who nodded encouragingly. "I've been on tour, and for the past couple of weeks I've been suffering with severe sickness just before and just after going onstage. That's the only time I have it. There's nothing else wrong, that I can really tell anyway. I'm just throwing up a lot."

"And how do you feel otherwise?" Nurse Maria asked.

"Perfectly fine," Louis shrugged. "I'm fine when I'm onstage - a little queasy now and then when I get too close to the pyros going off and I can smell it... but other than that, there's literally nothing wrong."

"Okay," Nurse Maria made a few notes on her notepad. "Can I ask if you're currently sexually active?"

Louis flushed hard as he glanced over at Harry.

"Uh, yeah?" he stammered slightly. "I mean, not so much right now, cos I'm on tour, and Haz is at home, cos he owns a bakery that he can't really leave. But yeah. When we're together, we're," he gulped, "sexually active. But everything's like, normal or whatever. There's no problems in the bedroom, at all!" he added quickly.

"Or the living room, or the bathroom, or the kitchen," Harry added under his breath, snickering out a laugh when Louis elbowed him.

"I see," Nurse Maria nodded. "Are you on any form of birth control?"

Louis stared at her blankly.

"Birth control?" he asked, his voice flat. "Do I look like a woman to you?" He held up a finger to Harry's face. "You can keep your mouth shut, Styles."

Nurse Maria eyed them both evenly.

"I take it from this reaction that you're both unaware of the potential for male pregnancy," she said evenly.

"I'm sorry, I think my ears are still ringing from the gig tonight, because there's no way in hell you said male pregnancy ," Louis' voice slowly increased in pitch, signalling a sign of near-hysteria.

"Oh my god," Harry muttered. "I thought that was like... a myth."

"No, Harry," Nurse Maria corrected. "It's a medical event that has been in existence for a significant number of centuries, but there has been a definite increase in occurrences over the past couple decades, due to the decriminalisation of homosexuality. It's a perfectly normal and natural thing, but it does require medicinal birth control to avoid it, if you're engaging in same sex intercourse without any other form of protection, such as condoms."

"Is it the same for lesbians?" Louis blurted out, his cheeks flushing bright red. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked that. I just. This isn't fair if it's only blokes. I mean..."

"I have been witness to two lesbian pregnancies," Nurse Maria said carefully. "They are slower to increase, and the specialists in gynaecology are still unsure of how that particular event occurs."

"Great," Louis said weakly. "But you think that's what this is? Not the lesbian, obviously, but you think I could be pregnant?"

"It's merely a possibility," Nurse Maria replied. "I'll have to perform a pregnancy test in order to establish the accuracy of my prediction."

"Will that hurt?"

"You literally pee in a pot and I prod it with a stick," Nurse Maria reassured him.

"Okay, I can do that," Louis let out a long breath, before glancing over at Harry. "Haz? You okay there?"

"A baby..." Harry murmured in a dazed tone, gazing at Louis with hearts practically popping out of his eyes. "Lou... we made a baby..."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, scamp," Louis said quickly. "We need to do a test first."

"I have a pregnancy test here, so I'll give you this pot to pee in," Nurse Maria held out a sample pot. "The loo is through the door here," she gestured. "Take your time, I'll wait."

"O-oh," Louis stared at the pot in his hand. "Now. Right. Okay."

He slowly got to his feet and slipped through the door, flicking the lock as it shut behind him, and leaned back against it.

"Fuck," he whispered, dropping his head back and gazing up at the ceiling. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

He gave himself a shake after a few moments of introspective confusion and did what was necessary, before he returned to the room, pot of pee in hand.

"Thank you Louis," Nurse Maria smiled, taking the pot and setting it on her table. She reached into the cupboard under her desk and pulled out a sealed test, ripping the plastic open and popping the end into the pot. "This will take a couple of minutes," she began to say, watching the test carefully. "Oh. Or not." She looked up at Louis with a smile. "Congratulations Louis. You're pregnant."

"Oh fuck," he said softly, before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he promptly passed out.

When he came around, he found himself laid out on a bed, hooked up to an IV with a bag of solution hanging off the pole next to his head, and Harry sat next to him, holding onto his hand

"What happened?" he mumbled weakly.

"Oh jeez, you're awake," Harry said breathlessly. "You passed out, when the nurse told you that you're pregnant. Turns out you're dehydrated from the sickness and the gig. So they fitted you up to a drip to get your levels all back to normal." He pressed a kiss to the back of Louis' hand. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Louis murmured. "Still struggling with the whole 'pregnant' thing though." He huffed out a breath. "You'd have thought Mum would've warned me, wouldn't you? She's a bloody midwife. But it apparently never occurred to her to mention to her gay son, who's been in a steady relationship with the same lad for four years, that oh by the way, be careful love, you could wind up knocked up." He grumbled under his breath, then looked up at Harry, who was biting his lip nervously. "Oh don't look like that, love. I'm happy. I think." He shrugged a shoulder. "It's just a shock, y'know?"

"I know," Harry nodded slowly, before he leaned over to kiss Louis' forehead softly. "But I'm here. I'm gonna be here. I promise. We're gonna kick ass at this whole parenting deal."

"I hope so," Louis said tiredly. "Talking of Mum... did you call her?"

"She'll be down tomorrow," Harry told him, then glanced at the clock. "Or rather, today. When I got off the phone with her, she was off to organise child care for the little twins after school. Apparently the last time the bigger twins were entrusted with their care, she got home to find Dots had been given a fake tan, and Ern had carefully shaped eyebrows."

"I heard about that," Louis chuckled softly. "Phoebs’ excuse for Dots’ tan had been that they were using up something that Lotts had left there, and it was nearly at its expiration date." He shook his head a little. "Lottie denies all knowledge of it, obviously. So the bigger twins are the ones in the shit for it."

"I absolutely adore your family," Harry told him seriously.

"I know you do, love," Louis smiled. "And they adore you too. Mum's gonna be over the sodding moon about this." He sighed. "She's gonna sob. You know that, don't you? First grandchild and all that."

"Mm, I reckon mine'll do the same," Harry nodded slowly. "Should I ask her down too?"

"Ah, crap," Louis sighed. "Better had. Wouldn't be fair to let Mum know before Anne. Yeah, okay. Go invite the fam. Let's do a big old announcement." He frowned suddenly. "Wait, do you know how far along I am? Is it even safe to be telling people?"

The door opened at that moment, revealing Nurse Maria.

"Ahh, Louis, you're back with us, I see," she greeted him.

"Yeah, sorry, thought a kip would be a good idea," he joked carefully. "Sorry about that though. I was just asking Haz if he knows how far along this pregnancy is."

"Well, I was discussing it with Harry while you were sleeping," Nurse Maria said. "We think you're roughly around the six to eight week mark, but we'll be more sure once we get an ultrasound done, but we wanted you to be awake for that. I'm sure you'll want to see the pictures?"

"Definitely," Louis nodded quickly. "This still doesn't feel particularly real though."

"I predict that feeling will continue until you're holding the baby in your arms," Nurse Maria winked. "I see it all the time. Through the ultrasounds, through the first kicks inside, through the stronger kicks towards the end, even all the way through labour itself... people still struggle to accept or come to terms with the fact that they are actually creating a whole little human in there, until they've done all the initial hard work, pushed it out, and have got the tangible evidence in their arms."

"Me mum's a midwife, so I'm sure she'll make sure I've got the idea before then," Louis chuckled. "But I will be having words about her distinct lack of preparing me for such a possibility." He tutted quietly. "I think that shows a serious neglect of responsibility towards her eldest child."

"Are you sure she didn't tell you, and you just ignored her, or sung over her?" Harry asked suspiciously. "Because I really don't see Jay leaving you completely unprepared like this." He paused and rolled his eyes. "I can, however, see you adamantly refusing to listen to her when she's talking about sex."

Louis gasped and pulled back a little to stare at Harry, an offended look on his face.

"How very dare you," he said. "I cannot believe you could accuse me of such a thing. I, who is carrying your offspring." He paused for a moment with a confused look about the validity of the grammar in that sentence, then widened his eyes. "Yeah, that's gonna take some getting used to. And yes, I know, that was appalling English, I’ve had a shock. Leave me alone."

"How about we get on with the ultrasound?" Harry suggested, causing Nurse Maria to chuckle softly as she pulled the machine closer. "Then at least we'll have more of an idea of what you can tell your mum off for."

"Have I mentioned that I'm a little nervous?" Louis asked, tilting his head to one side. "Because I am. And I'm not entirely sure what to do with that."

Harry slipped his fingers through Louis', leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm right here, boo," he murmured softly. "I'm not going to leave you to go through this alone. I promise."

"But, the tour, your shop," Louis started.

"Shh, we'll work it out," Harry promised, resting his forehead on Louis'. "Now just hush, and let's see if we can see our 'offspring' as you so delightfully put it."

The two turned to look at the screen, while Maria moved the hospital gown out of the way and squirted the conductive gel over his currently flat stomach.

"S'cold," Louis murmured.

"Sorry," Maria apologised. "Now then, gentlemen. If you give me just a moment here..." Her voice trailed off as she grabbed the wand from the machine and pressed it carefully onto Louis' stomach, tapping a few keys on the keyboard as she got it to focus on the monitor. "Okay, here we go." She pointed at a small white mark on the screen. "This is your baby." She tapped again. "Judging by the size and position of the foetus, I would say you are currently around the eight week mark."

"Eight weeks?" Harry checked.

"Yes," Maria nodded. "The foetus is approximately an inch long. And, we may be able to..." she trailed off again as she pressed another button, and a soft, but swift thumping sound came out of the speakers. She grinned around at the couple. "That's your baby's heartbeat. Nice and strong."

"It's so fast," Harry whispered, completely awed.

"That... that's our baby..." Louis managed, his voice cracking with emotion. "Haz. Harry. We... We made a baby."

"We really did," Harry agreed, pressing a kiss to Louis' fingers. "Fuck yes we did, Lou. Look at that."

Louis hiccuped hard, his eyes fixed firmly on the screen as he leaned into Harry, completely overwhelmed with everything.

"I'll take a few pictures and get them printed off," Maria told them. "Would you like a flash drive with the audio on?"

"Yes!" Louis demanded sharply, but settled back down immediately. "Sorry. Yes, please. That would be amazing. Thank you."

"Not a problem, Louis," Maria winked. "You wouldn't be the first, nor will you be the last to be overwhelmed by everything that's happening in this room." She finished cleaning him up and pulled the gown back down. "I'll go get the prints and flash drive organised, then I'll send someone in with them. You need to rest, Louis. Try not to get too stressed out. The doctor wants another bag put into you once that one's done," she added, gesturing to his drip. "I have a feeling you'll be in overnight."

"Oh god, do I have to?" Louis sighed heavily.

"You were incredibly dehydrated," Nurse Maria gave him a pointed look. "And you were slightly under nourished. The next bag will have extra nutrients to counteract the effect of the sickness, and we'll sort out some meds for you to take to guard against future sickness."

"So I should be able to eat properly?" he asked.

"Exactly," Nurse Maria nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll leave you in Harry's capable hands."

She left the room, pushing the ultrasound machine in front of her, as Harry moved to sit on the edge of the bed next to Louis, his eyes bright with happy unshed tears.

"Can you believe that?" he whispered, his voice faint and husky, rough with emotion. "That was our baby, Lou. Our actual baby." He began to move a hand onto Louis' stomach, but froze suddenly, looking up at him quickly. "Can I...?"

"Of course you can, Haz," Louis murmured, grabbing hold of Harry's hand and pressing it carefully to his stomach. "You don't have to ask to touch me, you know that."

"I wanted to be sure," Harry said softly, leaning over to kiss him gently. "You know I'd never assume anything with you." He chuckled out softly, still a little disbelieving. "An actual baby, Lou. They're gonna look like us." He nudged Louis' nose with his own. "I hope they have your eyes."

"Nah, yours," Louis protested gently, lifting one hand to rest it on Harry's cheek, rubbing his thumb lightly under Harry's eye. "You know I'm a sucker for these green pools." He snorted softly and rolled his eyes. "Get told I'm pregnant and within half an hour, I've devolved into the sappiest, corniest words I could possibly think of. What have you done to me, Styles?"

"Knocked you up, apparently," Harry snickered, pressing a kiss to Louis' palm. "And yes, I'm pretty fucking proud of myself. You know I love kids."

"I do," Louis nodded, gazing down at their hands tangled together over the gown on his stomach. "It's gonna be one hell of a ride." He groaned quietly. "How the hell am I gonna finish this tour?"

"You'll do it," Harry told him seriously. "I know you will. You've already committed to these dates, and it's not like you're gonna be onstage when you're actually due to give birth. Your waters aren't going to break in the middle of Back To You." He paused for a moment, then widened his eyes as he dropped his gaze down Louis' body. "Wait, do you even have waters? Are you gonna give birth, like... normally?"

Louis stared at him wide-eyed.

"We'll have to talk to my mum," he said quickly. "She can tell us everything, right?"

"Of course she can," Harry nodded.

"When will she be here, anyway?" Louis asked.

"I spoke to her when you fainted on me and the nurses were attending to you," Harry said, pulling his phone from his pocket and checking an unread message. "Oh, she left literally right after I told you she was coming," Harry chuckled. "She'll be here in about two and a half hours or so?"

"This is Jay Deakin we're talking about," Louis sighed softly. "She'll be here sooner than that. If all you've told her is that I'm in hospital, she'll be breaking every damn speed limit she possibly can."

"Shit," Harry cursed. "Should I call her? Tell her to chill? Or at least suggest it?"

"You would be talking to a brick wall, love," Louis smiled ruefully. "Trust me. She'll be on a one-woman mission, and nothing and no one will get in her way. Especially not a ringing phone, or pesky speed limits."

"So, you're saying she'll be here quicker than she should be?" Harry guessed.

"Oh, without a shadow of a doubt," Louis chuckled. "Good job you've already met, huh? Can you imagine this being the first instance of meeting the parents? In hospital, just found out we're pregnant... yikes?"

"And it happens to some folk," Harry nodded slowly. "Poor buggers." He gave Louis a bright smile. "Aren't you glad I insisted on that family meal?"

"Which one?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've been together a fairly long time, love. It's not like this is a new relationship."

“That first one! That I put together for our families to meet!” Louis continued to look at him blankly. "Well, now you've gone and offended me," Harry huffed. "Also, I still consider this to be a new relationship."

"What? Why?" Louis looked mystified. "We've been together for four years, how is this still new?"

"In the long run it is," Harry sniffed. "I'm planning on being with you for the rest of my life, Louis. Which is going to be at least another sixty to seventy years. Therefore, four years is a very small percentage of that time. Therefore, it's still a new relationship."

Louis gazed at him, a soft smile on his face as he watched the stubborn set to Harry's jaw appear.

"I am so completely and entirely in love with you," he said quietly. "You surprise me every single day, and I hope that is something that never ever changes, not even when we're old and grey, in our rocking chairs in the nursing home our kids have stuck us in. And of course I remember that first meal. You cooked marmite chicken to impress my Mum, and it worked."

"Kids, plural, huh?" Harry gave him a cheeky grin. "How many do you reckon we'll have?"

"I should've known that'd be what you picked up on," Louis rolled his eyes playfully. "Let's see how this one goes before we start planning a football team. But yes, one way or another, I'd like more than one kid with you."

"Me too," Harry nodded. "And I promise, I'll always try and surprise you." He flashed Louis a wink. "But I really think you should try and get some sleep before your mum gets here. I think I'm gonna try for that amazing looking chair there, see how much I can fuck up my back in two hours."

"There's room on the bed," Louis said quickly, wriggling over to one side. "Please, Haz. I always sleep better with you anyway, and I don't want you to screw up your back."

Harry eyed him uncertainly.

"I dunno," he said warily. "I don't want to disturb the IV."

"You can lay on the other side," Louis said stubbornly. "And if you be big spoon for a change, it'll be fine. Please?"

"As long as you're sure," Harry said hesitantly, as he bent down to unzip his boots. "I really don't want to hurt you at all."

"You couldn't," Louis assured him.

"I'd still rather not take that risk," Harry mumbled, setting his boots deliberately to one side under the bed, before he lifted the sheets and sat down carefully, sliding his legs in alongside Louis'. "You need to tell me if you're uncomfortable, or if I hurt you at all."

"Just shut up, Styles," Louis sighed, snuggling back against Harry's firm body. "Shut your mouth, shut your eyes, cuddle me, and go to sleep."

"The basics, then."

"Exactly."

~~~~

"Lou-bear, Louis, sweetheart," a soft voice filtered through the fog of sleep, slowly rousing him as he fluttered his eyelids open.

"Mm... Mum?" he mumbled, carefully peering out of one eye.

"Hey there love, it's me," she said quietly. "Don't sit up or move, you look comfortable there. I just wanted you to know I was here." She shrugged a little. "Been here for a couple hours, actually. But you've both been completely unconscious, so I thought I'd leave you to it. The nurse wants to check your vitals a moment though, so I said I'd wake you up."

Louis yawned and covered his mouth with a hand, before he gently rubbed at Harry's arm around him.

"Okay, I'm awake," he said roughly. "I'll get this one to wake up too. If I'm awake, he can be."

"He looks so peaceful, though," Jay protested mildly.

"It's all a front, Mum," Louis told her. "You know this. You know you usually wind up telling him off for getting the twins all riled up."

"I know," she conceded. "That's partly why I'm telling you to leave him asleep," she added with a wicked grin.

"Mother, how disgraceful," Louis gasped, an impressed grin on his face, before he stretched carefully. "I feel a lot better though."

"They haven't told me why you're in here, love," Jay said carefully. "They said it was for you to tell me when you woke up."

"Ah," Louis scratched the back of his neck lightly. "In that case, I'm definitely waking this one up." He gently nudged at Harry's stomach. "Haz, wake up. C'mon. Mum's here. You're making me look bad."

"He isn't," Jay said quickly.

"Yes, he is," Louis insisted. "C'monnnn, Harry."

Harry let out a low groan and hid his face in the pillow for a moment.

"Dammit, Lou," he mumbled. "S'too early. There'd better be a crisis, and you're not just bugging the shit out of me for a blowie, cos I will definitely tip you out of the bed."

"Harold!" Louis hissed sharply.

"What? What?" Harry sat up quickly, looking around in confusion. "Where are we? What? Oh..." He caught sight of Jay sat next to the bed and gave her a sheepish wave. "Hi Jay."

"Hiya Harry," Jay replied with a raised eyebrow. "You feeling okay?"

"Sorry, yes, I'm good," he said quickly, sitting up carefully, making sure he didn't jostle Louis too much. "Uh, yeah, I'm gonna sit on the chair."

"Sounds like a good plan," Jay nodded firmly, still eyeing him suspiciously. "And then I want you both to tell me exactly what the hell is going on. Not that I don't want to see you both, but I don't particularly appreciate the worried phone call just before 1am, asking me to come straight down to London because my eldest son is in hospital."

"Sorry about that," Louis apologised quickly. "I'm okay, Mum. I promise." He glanced over at Harry. "But we do have some news for you."

"Okay?" Jay looked at him expectantly.

"I'm pregnant," Louis said quietly, his eyes flickering over his mum's face, trying to get a read on her reaction before she could even register the words. "About eight weeks along."

"You're..." Jay stared at Louis, then dropped her gaze to the sheets over his stomach, before she looked at Harry, and then back to Louis. "You're actually pregnant...?"

"Yeah," Louis nodded slowly. "It was a complete surprise to both of us - neither of us even realised that getting pregnant was a potential risk?"

"Oh, Louis!" Jay exclaimed, her frustration breaking through the haze of disbelief. "I went over it when you told me you were gay, love! I knew you'd switched off, I knew you weren't listening, but I stupidly hoped that some of it had gotten through to you." She sighed heavily, but then started to smile slowly. "So, I'm gonna be a grandmum?"

"Yeah, you are," Harry nodded. "We were completely shocked by the whole thing, but... I dunno. It's sinking in, and it's pretty awesome, and I think we're kinda excited, aren't we, Lou?"

"Yeah, definitely," Louis agreed with a quick nod. "I'm definitely excited. Oh! We have a video, and pictures, and audio of the heartbeat."

"You’ve heard the heartbeat already?" Jay asked, her eyes wide. "That's brilliant, loves. I'm so happy for you both. Even if I do think I'm still far too young to be a grandmum."

"But you'll be a beautiful one," Louis was quick to reassure her. "And I promise, everyone will think you're their mum, not their nan."

"Now you're taking it too far," Jay glared playfully as she stood up, then leaned over to hug Louis carefully. "But you still haven't actually explained why you're in the hospital."

"Louis was very sick," Harry said. "And then because of that, he wasn't getting the hydration he needed. So we brought him in to get checked out, because of the sickness, which is when we found out about the baby. They put him on a drip to rehydrate and get some of the other nutrients in. The doctors were worried he was a little malnourished because of the continued sickness."

"Continued?" Jay immediately focused on that one word. "How long have you been sick, love?" She ran her fingers through Louis' hair, looking at him worriedly.

"A few days, that's all," Louis sighed softly. "I've been looking after myself as best I can."

"Lottie didn't tell me anything when I spoke to her yesterday," Jay frowned.

"That's cos she didn't know," Louis rubbed a hand over his face. "I tried to make sure she didn't see or hear or find out about it. But I was late going onstage tonight because it was so bad, so..." he trailed off with a shrug. "She found me with my head down the loo, and yelled at anyone who tried getting too close." He flickered a small smile. "I'll arrange for her to have a pay rise."

"I brought him here as soon as the gig finished," Harry elaborated. "I had no idea it was so bad until he fessed up to the doctors. Which is at least something," he added with a pointed glare at his boyfriend.

"Yeah, yeah," Louis waved a hand. "I'm fine, aren't I? And apparently carrying another life on board, so I think I get a little bit of slack now, please and thank you."

"Well, you should probably get some more sleep," Jay rolled her eyes fondly. "I'm gonna go find your sister, let her know what's going on. Then I'll come and see you again at a more sensible time."

"Night, Mum," Louis smiled tiredly. "See you later. Love you. Thank you for coming down."

"You're welcome, love," Jay replied, leaning over to press a kiss to Louis' forehead, then squeezed Harry's hand. "Look after my boy, Harry."

"Of course, Jay," Harry nodded seriously. "I'll walk you out. I'm sure Louis will be grateful for the peace and quiet for ten minutes."

"Oh, definitely," Louis agreed quickly. "I'm gonna stretch out, and then you'll have to scrunch up in the chair," he added with a firm nod.

Harry rolled his eyes and followed Jay out of the room, walking her down to the car park and helping her into the car.

"Thank you for coming down on such short notice," he said, resting his hands on the open window ledge.

"Oh, sweetheart, of course," she reassured him. "I know he's my son, so of course I would be here for him. But you know I'm here for you too, don't you?" She squeezed his hand gently. "He is going to be completely stubborn every single step of this pregnancy, and I promise you, you will be ridiculously frustrated with him at times. But that's okay. Feel free to talk to me about it, because I know what it's like. I know what pregnancy hormones are like, and I know what my boy is like." Jay shook her head slowly. "If he'd only listened to me properly when he told me he was serious about you." She sighed softly. "But never mind. What's done is done, and your baby is going to be beautiful and so well-loved."

"I know," Harry nodded. "I'm still in shock, if I'm honest. I can't really believe it. I'm gonna be a dad. That's mad. Exciting, thrilling, but completely terrifying and utterly ridiculous, all at the same time."

"That is most definitely a global thing," Jay chuckled. "That's exactly how each and every expectant parent in the whole wide world feels when they find out that they're soon going to have this tiny baby in their possession who is completely and utterly dependent on them for every single little thing." She gently touched his cheek, giving him another warm smile. "But you are both going to be amazing. And you will have me, and the girls, and Dan. And you'll have your mum, and Robin, and Gemma, and your dad. You'll both be so supported through every single step. I promise you that."

"I know," Harry huffed out a heavy breath. "Thank you again, Jay. We'll see you tomorrow. I think my mum should be here in the morning."

"I'll make sure to catch up with her," Jay nodded. "We've both been busy recently, so I haven't had chance to meet up with Anne for a while."

"I think she may need you to help her understand how this could happen," Harry said slowly. "Because I know that I definitely paid attention to her when she gave me The Talk. She gave me two - one when I hit puberty, which was a very general heterosexual one, and then another after I came out to her, that she made sure to research so she could tell me about safe sex and stuff. But there was nothing about male pregnancy at all."

"I'll make sure I'm there when you tell her then," Jay decided. "But you go on back up to Lou, before he starts thinking you've abandoned him. I wouldn't be surprised if his hormones are kicking in big-style already - they did with me, anyway."

"Right, I'll expect a sobbing mess when I get back then," Harry joked. "Safe drive to Lottie's. See you later."

Harry waited to wave Jay off out of the car park, before he took a deep breath and stepped back inside, flashing a bright smile at the receptionist as he made his way through to the elevator.

He paused in the doorway of Louis' room, taking a moment to lean against the doorframe as he gazed at the man in the bed. The man he was in love with, the man he had already been excited to share his life with before they found out about the baby, and now the man who was carrying his baby. The man who was going to be by his side for the rest of their days, who he was going to raise a family with. Harry rested his head against the jamb, lost in his thoughts and smiling softly.

"Hey, you there, you being a perv or something?" Louis demanded, finally spotting Harry. "I'm not sure I want weirdos lurking in the doorway of my room. Should I be calling security?"

"Well, you could," Harry replied, pushing himself off of the door and coming inside properly, pushing the door to behind him. "But I think they'd be a little bit confused when they got here and you asked them to remove your baby daddy from the premises."

"Nah, I'm sure they're used to such demands," Louis shrugged lightly, before he smiled warmly. "Mum get off okay?"

"Yup, off to wake up Lotts," Harry nodded. "I'm sure Lotts is gonna be thrilled with that."

"Aren't you glad you're not a fly on the wall?" Louis asked rhetorically. "You'd be deafened by the shrieks of protest... which will inevitably fade to nothing when she realises it's Mum there at the door and she's likely to get chores or something as punishment for her language."

"Hey, Lou," Harry said softly, perching carefully on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, love?" Louis blinked tiredly up at Harry.

"I am so in love with you, you know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Louis replied, frowning slightly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it is," Harry nodded quickly. "I just... I wanted to make sure you knew. That I'm here for the long haul. I'm in this. And I can't wait to meet this little one," he added, resting his hand gently on Louis' stomach.

"I'm pretty sure we had this conversation earlier," Louis attempted to joke.

"Maybe we did," Harry shrugged a shoulder. "But it bears repeating." He took a deep breath, and began to slide off the edge of the bed.

"Woah, woah, woah," Louis immediately protested, leaning forward and grabbing Harry under the armpits to tug him back upwards. "Where do you think you're going, pal? Because if it was down on one knee with the intention of proposing, you can cut that shit out right this very second."

"But --" Harry stammered.

"Nope, no buts," Louis shook his head firmly. "You promised, promised , that I could be the one to propose. And just cos you managed to get me all knocked up doesn't mean you can renege on that. I'm doing the big grand proposal, and I refuse to have a fucking shotgun wedding." He eyed Harry suspiciously. "That's what you were thinking about, wasn't it?"

"Uh..." Harry scratched the back of his neck, shifting his weight slightly. "Maybe?" he offered.

"Yeah, no, not gonna happen, buddy," Louis huffed. "I stupidly thought what we have was worth a little bit more than a rush job."

"It is!" Harry protested. "I just wanted to make sure we do this right!"

"Oh dear god, you actually wanted a shotgun wedding," Louis said, his tone full of disbelief. "You actually think that 'doing it right' means marriage before babies. Jesus fuck, Harry!"

"I know, I know!" Harry threw his hands up in exasperation. "I have no idea what I was even thinking. It just... seemed like that was what I should be doing, and then I was starting to do it, even though part of me was going 'what the actual fuck, Styles??' in my damn head." He pouted a little. "I'm sorry."

"You are so fucking lucky I love you so much," Louis grumped. "Now stop with your daft ideas and get into bed. I want snuggles and sleep, lots and lots of bloody sleep, especially if you've invited your mum down too." He wriggled around as Harry climbed back in behind him. "And then I suppose I need to have a serious think about what the hell I'm gonna do with this tour."

"Are you gonna finish it?" Harry asked softly.

"I have to," Louis shrugged. "Not just because it's a legal requirement - it would cost way too much to cancel or postpone - or because I'd be letting so many of my fans down, but because I need to do this, for me. I want to finish it. It's what I've been working towards for so long, how can I drop it now?" He cuddled back against Harry. "I just need to sort out all of the logistics properly."

"Well, I'll help in whatever way I can," Harry promised. "I'm gonna take time out of the bakery - Niall can handle the day to day running for a while if necessary."

"No, no," Louis immediately protested. "You need to keep working while I'm on tour. Because I'll want you home when this little munchkin makes their appearance. No, you look after your business. I'll see if I can call on the lads to lend me a hand with distraction and stuff when it gets a bit more... interesting, shall we say?"

"If you're sure," Harry said, looking a little uncertain.

"I am, most definitely," Louis said firmly, before he leaned up to kiss Harry's cheek gently. "Just so long as you're there when I need you the most, love."

"Nowhere else I'd rather be," Harry murmured in reply.

~~~~

Eight weeks later, Paris, 45 minutes before show time

"Oh sweetheart, you're gonna have to let me get you some paternity-fit clothing," Clarice told him, for what felt like the fiftieth time. "These trackpants are starting to dig in far too much around your bump." She gave him a firm look. "You're not damaging this baby, Lou. Not on my watch. Take them off."

Louis opened his mouth to protest, but caught sight of the look in Clarice's eyes and sighed heavily as he gave in, pushing the trackpants down carefully.

"It's like I've bloody exploded overnight," he muttered. "I swear these fit yesterday."

"No, no they didn't," Clarice replied firmly. "They've been tight for at least a week. You've just been a stubborn ass and refused to take them off." She handed over a looser fit pair. "Put these on."

"You are an utter slave driver," he declared, taking the trousers and carefully stepping into them, tugging them up over his ever-growing stomach and letting out an unintentional sigh. "Okay, I'll give you that. These feel better."

"Thank you," Clarice sniffed imperiously. "Here's your hoody, and Martin reckons you need to be a bit more careful when you get near the front row. He thinks your bump's visible."

"Martin is an arse-licker who needs to get a fucking grip," Louis griped. "I really wish I could send the snooty little shit home. I think I'm handling the gigs perfectly fine - I don't need a sodding babysitter."

Clarice, who had heard the same rant every night there'd been a gig since the appearance of Martin on the tour, simply nodded sagely in agreement.

"But, as I keep telling you, your label isn't sending him to 'check up on you' like you seem to think," she said patiently. "He's here to make sure that everything is running smoothly for you. And that means making some decisions for you at times."

"Making some decisions?" Louis questioned in disbelief. "He decided the other day that the steps up to the stage were too steep, and would have to be stretched out, taking up more of the backstage area, and actually causing more of a hazard than if they'd been left. It was only the one sodding venue!"

Clarice sighed, knowing that any further attempts to soothe the choppy waters between Louis and Martin would fall on deaf ears, as both had been in to rant to her at least twice that day already.

"Well, at least with these trousers, you should be a bit more comfortable onstage," she said, completely glossing over the discussion about Martin. "And if you're more comfortable, then you should be less likely to reveal this before you're ready. Plus, they should mask it a whole lot better."

"Thank you, darling," Louis smiled softly. "I know I'm being a right royal pain in the ass, but I promise that I do completely appreciate it. And I will definitely make it up to you with a fairly hefty bonus at the end of tour."

"Care to hand over an advance on that bonus?" Clarice attempted, looking hopeful and making Louis chuckle.

"I'll see what I can do," he promised, giving her a cheeky wink as he slipped out of the room to look for Lottie in his dressing room.

"There you are," she greeted him with a huff. "I was beginning to think you had your head down a toilet again."

"Nice to see you too, little sister," Louis rolled his eyes. "I was complaining to Clarice."

"About Martin again?" Lottie rolled her eyes in reply. "You both need to grow the fuck up and just work together. It would be better for everyone in the long run."

"I know, I know, everyone keeps telling me this," Louis huffed. "And Haz says I need to chill cos my blood pressure needs to stay down."

"Another valid point," Lottie pointed at him with her makeup brush, then gestured to the chair for him to sit down. "You need to look after my little niece or nephew you're cooking in there, or I'll have to beat you up. And I'll get Fizzy involved too. You know what she's like when she scraps."

Louis shuddered slightly.

"She pulls hair," he muttered.

"Exactly," Lottie nodded. "Now then. What are we doing for tonight? Cat's eyes? A bit of smokeyness? Maybe rainbow colours?"

"That sounds pretty, the rainbows," Louis nodded. "Can we do that?"

"You'll let me play?" Lottie stared at the reflection in disbelief.

"Go for it, love," Louis shrugged a shoulder. "I'm feeling rainbows today."

"Love you, Lou!" she exclaimed, hugging him quickly before she pulled out her eyeshadow palettes. "I promise I'll make it look good. It'll be sick, I swear."

"Well, Haz is on his way," Louis said quietly. "I haven't seen him since we found out about this --" he ran a hand over his stomach, "-- so I'm a little concerned about how it's going to be when he gets here. Cos I'm getting fat."

"You're not getting fat, Lou," she chastised him gently. "You're getting baby. It's a good thing. Means the baby's nice and healthy and strong. This is what we want to see!"

"I know," Louis agreed with a heavy sigh. "Doesn't mean it makes it any easier though. I'm paranoid."

"Well, please don't be," she murmured. "Harry loves you so much. He's gonna be excited about your bump, not put off by it." She paused for a moment, then pulled a face. "And please don't make me think about the ways in which he'll be excited again. I'm gonna need some brain bleach to deal with it!"

"Sorry, Lotts," Louis chuckled. "I promise I'll pay for your therapy?" he offered.

"You can pay for more than that," she told him, prodding his face gently with a blusher brush. "I'm calling dibs on godmother, you know that, right?"

"I think you and Gems are battling it out, to be honest," Louis shrugged. "Me and Haz will have to talk it through. Nearer the time, though. I think we're gonna be focusing on getting this little bugger here first." He gave Lottie a small smile. "We've got the second scan tomorrow, that's partly why Harry's coming tonight."

Lottie frowned slightly.

"Shouldn't you have had another one before now?" she asked. "I'm sure Mum had one at twelve weeks."

Louis sighed heavily, glaring a little.

"Yes, there should've been," he grumbled. "But we were in Germany, and then Poland, and then Italy, and then Croatia, and then Turkey, and then Italy again, and then over to Japan, and Hong Kong, and back to France, and all the Scandinavian countries." He yawned widely, covering his mouth with a hand. "Making me tired again just thinking about it. But the point is, we weren't close enough for me to pop back to the UK for it."

"And now you are," Lottie concluded.

"And now I am," he agreed. "So we're going tomorrow, before the next gig tomorrow night."

"So we have tonight and tomorrow here, then Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, before we head stateside, yes?" Lottie checked, peering at the venue list attached to her makeup case.

"Sounds about right," Louis nodded. "Only six more weeks, and I can hang up my microphone."

 Lottie bit her lip as she carefully applied the subtle rainbow-coloured shadow to his eyelids.

"C'mon, Lotts," he eventually said quietly. "Say what you wanna say. Cos I can tell you have something to input."

"Well," she started slowly. "The thing is... you're already fairly obviously pregnant. It's going to be even more obvious by the time we reach the end of that six weeks. Are you going to say anything? Publicly, I mean."

Louis blew out a deep sigh, opening his eyes slowly to look at his little sister.

"I'll be completely honest," he murmured. "I have no idea. I know that I should, but..." He wrapped his arms around his stomach protectively. "I'm not sure I want this to be dragged through the press and media for their wank fodder, y'know?"

"I get that," she nodded with a small smile. "But at the same time... they're gonna start speculating anyway, so at least if you release the information, then you'll be in control of where and how and when."

"Again, it's something else on the list to discuss with Harry," Louis said. "It's something that'll affect him too, after all."

A light tap on the door made them both look around.

"What is it?" Lottie called.

The door opened and a head appeared; a pair of dimples topped with curls.

"Hey," Harry greeted. "How's it going?"

"Hiya Harold," Lottie grinned. "C'mon in. We're nearly done here."

Harry beamed and stepped inside properly.

"Hiya Lou," he said softly, catching sight of Louis in the chair, being uncharacteristically shy. "You okay, darling?"

"Yeah," Louis nodded slowly, lifting his gaze to meet Harry's slowly. "Hey Haz. Missed you."

"I missed you too," Harry replied in a rush, crossing the room in two strides to kneel beside the chair and grab up Louis' hands, pressing kisses to his fingers. "I missed you so much."

Louis gave him a shaky smile, pulling one hand free to run his fingers through Harry's hair, tugging gently, while Lottie stepped discreetly to one side, giving them a small illusion of privacy.

"Been a bit nervous, to be honest," he admitted quietly.

"What for? What of?" Harry asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Seeing you again, doofus," Louis huffed quietly. "I've kinda grown a bit," he added, gesturing to his stomach area.

"Ohh, yes!" Harry grinned. "Can I see, Lou? Please? Pretty please? I've been thinking about this for weeks - ever since Gems brought me a copy of that What to Expect When You're Expecting."

"Oh my god, you're reading that?" Louis stared at him in shock.

"Yes?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "She asked for the version on male pregnancy, and it's been really interesting. Like, did you know that at sixteen weeks, a baby starts having facial expressions? They have no control over them, but I just know ours is in there giving me that pissed off look you're so perfect at."

"Or that ridiculously innocent one you've got down to a tee," Louis countered, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"Yes, well, either are a possibility, I guess," Harry conceded with a sniff. "But they can form a fist now! And hold their own hands. How amazing is that?"

"They'll be in there doing that prayer hands of thanks you've been doing ever since we went to Japan," Louis deadpanned.

"Heyyyy," Harry protested quietly, before he stretched up to kiss Louis softly. "Hiya, Boo," he added in a soft whisper.

"Hiya Haz," Louis replied, gently nudging Harry's nose with his own. "Love you."

"Love you too," Harry murmured, before pressing a soft kiss to Louis' lips. "Now, let me have a look at this baby bump of yours before I get huffy."

Louis chuckled softly and leaned back in his chair, pulling the oversized sweater up to reveal his small bump.

"Clarice has got me in paternity clothing," he said quietly. "Apparently the waistbands on my usual stuff has been cutting in too much. I think Clarice was afraid the baby would have a mark across its head or something."

"I guess I need to thank Clarice later then," Harry smiled softly, gently rubbing Louis' sides. "You both look amazing though." He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Louis' stomach, still covered by a tshirt. "Hi there, baby. I'm your daddy," he whispered against the material.

Louis bit his lip hard as he watched, trying desperately not to ruin Lottie's work on his makeup by letting his hormones overwhelm him.

"You, get away from my big brother before he sobs all the eyeshadow down his cheeks," Lottie promptly chastised Harry, spotting the look on her brother's face. "Otherwise I will totally kick your ass."

"Fine, fine," Harry huffed. "No tears from the big popstar. You have a whole-ass gig to get to first."

"I do, I do," Louis agreed, taking a deep breath and getting to his feet. "Thanks for the makeup, Lotts. I love it, you're a superstar makeup artist and I love you to bits."

"Fuck you," she replied deadpan. "Get your ass onstage and earn some more fucking money, you lazy dick."

"You are the nicest person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting," he nodded. "I'm so thankful to have you in my life," he added with a wink, grabbing Harry's hand and leading him out of the room towards the stage.

"You're such a shit, and so is she," Harry snickered. "Jay's genes are ridiculously strong in you both. I love being around you and your dynamic."

"You mean cos it's so different from you and Gems?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess?" Harry shrugged a shoulder. "You think it's cos you're the older one and I'm the younger?"

"Never really thought about it," Louis said thoughtfully. "I mean, possibly? But also, I'm a lot like Gems - it's been pointed out so many times I'm not even going to question it any more - and I think you're a lot like Lotts. So I guess that's how it works?"

"Still kinda weird though," Harry commented.

"Is this supposed to be helping me get ready for showtime?" Louis asked. "Because it's really not."

Harry rolled his eyes and gently pushed Louis towards the stairs.

"Get your ass up there then," he told him. "Before I change my mind and decide that you need to stay wrapped up in protective cotton wool for the next twenty four weeks."

"Sounds kinky," Louis snarked over his shoulder. "We'll have to try it someday."

"You are the biggest shit I've ever had the misfortune to meet," Harry said seriously. "I genuinely have no idea what I see in you."

Louis smirked as he turned at the top of the stairs and lifted the front of his sweater.

"Your baby?" he asked, before giggling into the back of his hand.

"Fucking get on stage!" Harry burst out, laughing himself. "Love you, break a leg or whatever it is they say."

"How about we go for 'good show'?" One of the stage runners suggested, looking nervously at Louis' stomach.

"That's a good one," Harry pointed at him, before looking back up at Louis. "Good show, darling."

"Thank you, love," Louis winked. "See you on the flip side. "Love you a whole bunch."

"Love you more."

With a roll of his eyes and after poking his tongue out at Harry playfully, Louis bounded out onstage at the sound of his intro music, performing easily and happily under the bright flashing lights. He always felt like he gave it more when he knew that Harry was watching - most of the songs he performed were written for Harry anyway, so it wasn't really much of a surprise as far as he was concerned.

Harry stood in the pit to one side of the stage, Lottie and Clarice at his side, with a proud smile on his face as he bopped and sang along.

"He's been nervous as hell of seeing you," Lottie called into his ear, glancing around to make sure none of the fans heard them.

"What for?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"He was afraid you wouldn't like him any more because of the... y'know," she gestured to her stomach. "He thought you'd find him disgusting or something."

"How the fuck could he think that?" Harry demanded. "He's beautiful, and I'm so fucking in love with him."

"I know, I know," Lottie reassured him. "I tried to tell him that, repeatedly. But he's stubborn. And even more so now, with the hormones wreaking havoc with his brain and his emotions."

"What's he been like to work with, really," he asked, starting to look worried.

"A pain in the ass, if I'm honest," Lottie admitted. "He's all over the place; either really happy, or in the depths of depression. Or he'll be bouncing off the ceiling all hyper one minute, and curled up in bed on the bus with the blanket over his head refusing to move." She sighed softly. "Mum says it's part and parcel of the pregnancy. But it's not exactly a brilliant working environment. Me and Clarice are covering for him as much as we can, but it's bloody difficult." She looked up at Harry, before leaning back in. "He needs something, or someone, to keep him on an even keel for a bit. Just to get us through the end of this tour. That bloke from the label is stressing him out even more. And we all know that stress is far from good for a baby, especially for a male pregnancy, Mum says."

"So, what you're really saying is, I need to hand over the running of the bakery to Liam and Niall, while I tag along for the rest of the tour?" Harry guessed.

"I'm not saying that," Lottie said quickly, before she sighed heavily. "But I'm not not saying it either." She looked at him. "I'm gonna be real with you, Harry. He's quiet. He's withdrawn. He's just holing himself up in the hotels, in the bus, in his dressing rooms, and hiding from everyone. He's even talking about stopping the meet and greets for Make A Wish."

Harry shot a frown at her, before he looked at Louis again.

"He's not mentioned that to me," he said quietly.

"Well, he wouldn't, would he?" Lottie folded her arms over her chest with a low huff.  "He doesn't want to worry you, for a start. And he thinks he should be all big and strong and independent about it. He forgets that you'd rather be at his side supporting him through this." She shot him another pointed look. "I'm not wrong, am I?"

"Of course you're not," Harry grumbled indignantly. "I'll speak to the lads later and get it all organised. I can join the tour within two days."

"Good," Lottie sighed. "I've been getting so worried."

"You don't need to worry as much now. Promise."

~~~~

Two weeks later, Atlanta, Georgia, four hours to showtime

"It's broken! It's broken! Everyone knows!"

Louis looked around at the sound with a confused look on his face.

"What in the fuck is that wankstain on about now?" he asked incredulously.

They were in the hotel, about to leave for the venue, when Martin came running down the corridor shouting his head off, and crashing through the door.

"Someone leaked it," he said breathlessly. "There's a photo of you and Harry, and your --" he gestured at Louis' stomach "-- is on full show. Everyone knows."

Louis sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face.

"Well, I think it was probably time I came clean about it, anyway," he shrugged. "It was a bit naive to think it could be kept quiet for the whole of the damn tour. The fans have been chattering away about it for weeks. It's not exactly a very well-kept secret, is it?"

"Are you okay with this, babe?" Harry asked quietly, gently squeezing Louis' fingers.

"I mean, I am? Because I think it's a good thing?" Louis half-asked. "But I do wish I'd had more control over it being revealed."

"So take control," Martin said immediately. "It's still a lot of speculation right now. So if you were to share a photograph and share it in your own way, then you'll divert the story and the narrative to the way you want."

Louis huffed out a breath and looked at Harry.

"What do you think, love?" he asked slowly. "You up for this? Because I want you right there with me if we do it."

"Of course," Harry shrugged a shoulder with a small smile. "You know I'm here to the end, darling." He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Louis' lips. "Let's go control the narrative, or whatever the fuck Martin said."

"We should get Lotts to take the photo," Louis decided. "She always makes pictures look good. She frames them right or whatever."

"Isn't she considered an influencer or something now?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she got the blue tick by her name and everything," Louis nodded proudly as he grabbed his phone up and shot off a text message. "She keeps grumbling though cos the photos she takes of the tour and stuff get more likes than her makeup and hair stuff. I told her it'll change once we finish the tour and I go on a break for this one." He rubbed gently at his stomach. "She'll get the recognition she deserves eventually."

"I heard from Fizzy," Harry commented. "She's just landed at the airport, she's just looking for the car, and she'll be here soon."

"Why didn't she text me?" Louis huffed. "I'm her bloody brother."

"I know, but she didn't want to disturb you in case you were asleep," Harry said patiently. "Lottie told her you've been having naps fairly regularly since we've been in the States."

"Oh, okay," Louis relaxed slowly. "I'm sorry. For snapping."

"It's fine, Boo," Harry gave him a small smile, then looked over as the door opened and Lottie came rushing in, her hair up in rollers, and a face mask on. "That's an interesting look."

"What's wrong?" Lottie demanded. "You said it was an emergency. Is it the baby? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Louis assured her, before holding out his phone and sitting down in front of Harry on the sofa "Need your photography skills, love."

"What?" Lottie said flatly.

"We need you to take a photo of us," Louis repeated."

"I was in the bloody bath, Lewis!" she half-shrieked. "You texted me 9-1-1, which we agreed would only be for actual emergencies! Not a fucking photoshoot for you and your fucking boy toy!"

"Heyyy..."

"Oi!"

Harry and Louis both protested.

"Firstly, he's not my boy toy, he's my boyfriend, life partner, and father of my unborn child," Louis continued. "Secondly, it's because the news about the baby has leaked, and Martin wants us to put out a picture. I figured you'd be best to take it because this is what you're bloody good at. We want a decent photograph to stick on the old 'gram."

Lottie gazed at him for a few moments, before she sighed heavily.

“Fine, fine,” she grumbled and held out a hand. “Give me the damn phone, and I’ll take your stupid sodding picture.”

“Don’t call it that,” Louis glared. “You need to make sure you make me and your niece or nephew look good.” Harry cleared his throat behind Louis. “Oh yeah, I suppose Haz better look okay too.”

Harry scoffed a little, while Lottie snickered into her hand.

“Okay, try and look pretty, both of you,” she said, holding the phone up.

“Excuse you, Charlotte,, but I always look pretty,” Harry informed her snootily, before grinning at Louis. “You’re not the only one who can be sassy.”

“Except you completely ruined the effect with that huge grin, love,” Louis told him affectionately, reaching up to cup Harry’s cheek gently, smiling warmly at him.

“Got it, perfect,” Lottie declared. “If this doesn’t get people cooing and commenting with the heart eyes emojis all over the place, then they’ve got hearts of ice and stone.” She handed back the phone. “Now can I go finish my bath in peace? Or did you want you scare me some more?”

“No, that’s it, you’re good,” Louis told her, his attention on the phone in his hand as he tapped around to find the photograph she had taken of them. “Oh, wow. Lotts!” He called out before she could leave the room. “Thank you, this is perfect.”

“I know,” she smirked. “And you’re welcome. Don’t forget: Godmother.”

She flashed them a wink before she left the room again.

“Uh, may I check it?” A voice interrupted the quiet Lottie had left behind, causing Louis to look around sharply.

“Martin?” He huffed. “I thought you’d left ages ago. And no. Why do you need to check it? It’s just me and Haz. Does it need to be checked? No one usually checks my Instagram posts.”

“Maybe just let him take a look, darling,” Harry said softly, stroking Louis’ bump slowly. “Better to get it right first time, than get it wrong and have to try and scramble to correct anything, right?”

“Fine,” Louis held out his phone to Martin, cuddling back into Harry and hiding his face in Harry’s throat. “But I really like the picture and I really want to put that one up,” he added in a mumble.

The sound of the shutter briefly caught Louis’ attention, but not enough for him to move as Martin handed the phone to Harry.

“Put both up,” Martin suggested gently. “And I’ll make sure it gets the right attention.” He gave them both a small smile. “I’m really pleased for you both, for what it’s worth. You’re a lovely couple, and your baby is going to be lucky to have you both as parents.”

“Thank you, Martin,” Harry gave him a small smile. “We’ll take your suggestion on board. And thank you for the kind words.”

Martin nodded once, before he quietly left the room, letting the door snick shut behind him.

Harry bit his lip as he held Louis close, before he glanced down at the phone in his hand, and felt his breath catch.

“Oh, Lou,” he murmured. “This picture is beautiful.” He lifted the phone to show Louis the snapshot that Martin had taken. “You look so soft and loving. I want it on my phone.”

“Well,” Louis sniffed softly. “I guess Martin isn’t too bad then.”

“You wanna put them both up then?” Harry checked.

Louis took the phone from Harry and tapped his way into Instagram, selecting both photographs from his gallery, and pausing for a moment as he considered the caption. After typing out a few sentences, he hit post and sighed softly.

“That’s it,” he murmured. “It’s properly out there.”

Harry looked at the phone, smiling as he read out what Louis had put.

“‘We are happy and proud to announce that I am expecting our first baby together. Made with love, trust, and the deepest feelings I’ve ever felt. I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to be on this amazing journey with my soulmate.’” Harry pressed a kiss to Louis’ temple. “Perfect,” he murmured.

~~~~

Four weeks later, The Forum, LA, California, two hours to showtime

“Last night of the tour, last night of the tour, it’s the laaaast niiiight,” Louis sang as he half danced down the corridor backstage at The Forum. “I’m going home tomorrow!”

“Yes, Louis, we know,” Clarice said patiently. “We all are, remember?”

“I know, but it means I don’t have to wear structured clothes any more,” he told her, sounding a little desperate. “I can just laze around in joggers and Harry’s hoodies, and no one will tell me that I need to look tidy, or that I’m a mess. I can slob.”

“But we’ll still be going for walks,” Harry said from behind him. “You’ll need to keep moving to a certain extent, love. You don’t want to put more weight than is necessarily healthy.”

“Oh, I know all that,” Louis waved a hand. “Mum’ll be nagging me about that stuff too. But Haz.” He leaned back against Harry. “Our own bed again.”

“I know, love,” Harry pressed a kiss to the back of his head. “I’m looking forward to it too.” He paused. “I’m not looking forward to seeing what’s left of my bakery though. Liam’s last update didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”

“I think Niall’s turned it into a pub,” Louis nodded firmly. “He’s managed to talk Liam down. Or done it when Liam was asleep, or something. Turned it into a bar slash strip joint.”

“Wow, I’m sure Shawn will be so happy with that,” Harry said flatly. “But I don’t think that’s the case. I’m sure Liam would be able to stop Ni, right?”

“Do you want me to ask Zaynie to go check it out before we get back?” Louis looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. “We’ve been meaning to set him and Liam up anyway. Two birds, one stone?”

Harry considered it for a moment, before he shrugged.

“Go for it,” he sighed. “At least I’ll have a bit of forewarning if it’s a pile of rubble, right?”

Louis chuckled softly and kissed Harry’s cheek reassuringly.

“I’m sure it’s all fine,” he said softly. “You’re just a little paranoid, love.”

“Maybe,” Harry huffed quietly. “But with reason, I think.”

Louis snickered under his breath and then let out a gasp. “Oh!”

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Harry immediately asked, resting his hands on Louis’ hips and looking him over worriedly.

“I think — yes,” Louis started to grin, grabbing hold of Harry’s hand and pressing it carefully against one side of his bump, where after a few moments, Harry felt a light flutter under his palm.

“Was that —?” He asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Uh huh,” Louis beamed up at him. “That’s our little love making themselves known.” He rubbed gently at his swollen stomach.

“Apparently they weigh five tangerines at twenty two weeks,” Harry declared quietly, still staring at his hand in awe.

“Five tangerines, huh?” Louis chuckled. “That’s a random thing to compare it to.”

“I thought that,” Harry told him. “But that’s the term the NHS uses, so...” he trailed off with a shrug.

“Boobear!” A voice called from the end of the corridor, causing both men to look around.

“Mum!” Louis exclaimed, turning to greet Jay as she practically ran down the hallway to get to them. “You’re here!”

“Of course I am, poppet,” Jay told him, wrapping her son up into a tight embrace. “Oh, I have missed you so much, darling. Let me look at you!” She pulled back a little to rake her gaze over him a little critically. “You’re not eating enough,” she declared. “And you’re looking a little pale. But other than that,” she smiled warmly. “You look absolutely beautiful, my love. You’re growing my grandbaby wonderfully.”

“I missed you, Mum,” Louis mumbled, sniffing softly as he found himself getting emotional. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I brought a surprise for Harry too,” Jay said with a wink. “Well, three of them. They’re on their way with Dan and the kids, but I was too impatient to walk slowly. I wanted to see my boy.” She hugged Louis again tightly.

Harry started to smile, looking down the corridor in anticipation.

“Don’t tell me you actually managed to drag Gemma away from her work?” He chuckled. “She hates planes!”

“She got on this one perfectly fine,” Jay shrugged. “But I have to admit that I wasn’t privy to what your mum said to her first, so,” she shrugged. “Anne told me there were a few mild threats involved, and that’s all I’m saying.”

Harry let out a loud cackle that echoed down the corridor, just as Anne, Gemma, Robin, Dan, and the other Tomlinson-Deakin kids all appeared.

"That sounds like my boy," Anne commented with a happy smile.

"Mum!" Harry gently squeezed Louis' arms, before he jogged down to meet her, hugging his mum tightly.

"C'mon love," Jay said to Louis. "Let's get you sat down. Everyone will catch up. But you're gonna be on your feet for the gig, so you should have some rest first."

"Okay, Mum," Louis said softly, leaning against her a little as they made their way to his dressing room.

~~~~

Four hours later

"Thank you so much, LA!" Louis shouted into his mic. "You've all been amazing. Thank you to my band, Melissa on lead guitar, Derek on drums, Alise on bass, and Jim on keys. Thank you to everyone you don't see - the crew, the roadies, the runners, the drivers, the catering - without those people, I wouldn't be able to be up here and sing for you guys. A huge thank you to my family, they're all here tonight, and I love them so much, I'm so grateful for everything they've done for me and all the support they've given me to be here." He waved into the pit at where the family were all clustered together, with the littlest twins jumping up and down excitedly.

Louis grinned and blew them kisses, before he took a deep breath and glanced over to the side of the stage, where Harry was standing, hands in the front pockets of his jeans as he watched Louis with an affectionate smile.

"I have one more thank you left," Louis said, lifting his mic to his mouth again. "As you all know, because it's a bit bloody obvious now, I'm rather pregnant." He paused as the audience cheered excitedly, making him smile and blush. "Now, clearly I didn't get into this on my own - this is not a Mary situation going on," he added, gesturing to his bump. "The other father of my baby is the love of my life, and I'm so fucking lucky - sorry Mum - to have him in my life. Los Angeles is one of his most favourite places in the world, so he's more than excited to be here. And this is actually something I've been planning ever since the tour was confirmed to have LA as the last date, so don't even start with me, Styles." He pointed a finger towards Harry. "But if you could please come out onstage, I would be incredibly grateful."

Harry stared at him, his face a picture of horror at the thought of stepping out onto the stage in front of all of the people in the audience - people who were currently screaming even louder than they had been before.

Louis waited for a few moments, before he rolled his eyes and strode across the floor to grab Harry's hand.

"C'mon love, I promise they won't bite," he said softly. "Just trust me, yeah?"

"Lou..." Harry trailed off, but followed anyway, shooting a desperate look towards their families in the pit, who were no help to him as they all screamed and clapped excitedly.

"Right," Louis said into the mic. "Now you're out here. Here's a seat for you." He gently pushed Harry onto a waiting chair. "Cos you're too tall for me to keep looking up at right now. I seem to have shrunk a little with the weight of your baby," he added with a playful glare. "As I was saying, this is something that's been planned for, ooh, at least a year. Everyone in this room knows exactly what's going on, because I arranged to contact the ticketholders to organise this."

"What are you doing, Louis?" Harry hissed, shifting uncomfortably in the chair.

"You'll see, darling," Louis said softly. "Okay, everyone! Are we ready for this?" He beamed at the screams. "You know what to do!" He waved a hand at the audience, then nodded at Derek, who began to tap out a drumbeat, with Jim joining in on keys a moment later.

"Oh fuck you," Harry mumbled, recognising the opening notes of You're Still The One - the song he'd decided was theirs once they'd been together for over two years, despite the repeated attempted interference by the media, Louis' label at the time, and casual acquaintances.

"I'm not doing the talky bit at the beginning cos that'll just make me cringe a bit," Louis told him with a soft snicker against Harry's ear.

"I hate you," Harry said with a bright smile.

Louis just beamed and began to sing, as the audience swayed slowly and sang along, word perfect, increasing the volume so it filled the room easily, and rang in Harry's ears. He watched Louis intently, seeing how he glowed, from the spotlights, from the thrill of being onstage, from being pregnant, from singing to Harry. Harry had an inkling of where this may be going, but he was still swept away by the moment, his eyes filling with tears as he began to feel overwhelmed by everything.

When it got to the short musical break, Louis gave the audience a deliberate nod, waited for a brief moment, and then nudged gently at Harry, pointing out to the crowd. Harry frowned in confusion before turning his gaze out and choking as he stared.

Somehow, everything had been worked out perfectly - the logistics were spot on and accurate, so the lights on peoples' phones, all held up high in the air, spelled out words that were clear to read: 'marry me Harry?'

As the song drew to an end, Louis watched Harry nervously, waiting for a response.

"Haz?" he said softly, gently touching Harry's arm.

"Yes," Harry croaked. "Yes. Yes. You absolute sentimental, over the top, extreme, dickhead of an idiot. Yes!"

Louis burst out laughing as Harry stood up and pulled him into a firm kiss, while the audience, including their families and the band, began to scream even louder.

"I love you," Harry mumbled against Louis' lips. "And I was going to ask you tonight. I hate you."

"I love you too, darling," Louis smiled softly, nuzzling gently. "We're gonna be a proper family, love. You, me, and our baby."

"Definitely," Harry nodded firmly, slipping his arms around Louis and hugging him tightly.

Louis pulled back after a few moments, lifting his mic back to his mouth.

"Thank you so much, everyone!" he called out. "You're all amazing. Thank you for being a part of this tonight. Thank you for all of your support. And I promise, as soon as I feel ready to go again, I'll be back out here performing for you all again. You're all beautiful people, and I'm grateful for each and every one of you." He blew a kiss out to the audience. "Have a safe journey home, thank you and good night!"

His band came down, bracketing him and Harry at either side and all taking a bow, before filing slowly offstage, with Louis bringing up the rear and waving up to the last second. The lights went off on the stage, and came up in the house, as the audience continued to scream and shout and stamp their feet.

"I can't believe they're still going," Louis said to Harry, leaning against him tiredly. "But I don't think I can go back out there again."

They were still going by the time the families had reached them, and Louis had changed into joggers and a tee.

"I think you're gonna have to go out there, poppet," Jay said with a chuckle. "Security are trying to get people to leave, but they're refusing."

"Oh jeez," Louis sighed. "Okay. Someone get me a mic. Liss, you good to come back out with me?"

Melissa nodded and grabbed her guitar.

"The amps should still be out there too, I don't think the roadies wanna get started on breaking it all down until the audience have gone," she added.

"Awesome," Louis nodded. "Let's go then."

He led the way back out onstage, with the lighting techs scrambling to get a spotlight on him in time, as the audience shrieked their approval.

"Hello, hello," Louis greeted them with a chuckle, taking a seat on the stool that one of the roadies appeared with. "Apparently you lot are refusing to leave, which is causing the security blokes more than a little bit of trouble." He snickered loudly. "As you can see, I'm already set to leave, but I thought I'd pop out and see you all again first. But, if I sing another song, you all have to agree to leave after... or we're going to get into trouble with the coding people for violation of performance regulations or something."

He and Melissa managed to squeeze in acoustic performances of two songs, before Louis stood again from the stool.

"Thank you all so fucking much," he repeated. "I know I've said it a lot tonight, but this really means the world to me, and I'm so incredibly grateful for everything. I don't know how long I'll be away, but please know that I'll be thinking of you all, and trying to raise a kid." He shook his head incredulously. "That's still a bit of a headfuck, I'll be honest." He cleared his throat. "But anyway. I'll see you all when I see you. I love you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

~~~~

Five months later

'LOUIS TOMLINSON-STYLES AND HUSBAND HARRY WELCOME HEALTHY BABY GIRL --

It has been announced, via the agent of Louis and Harry Tomlinson-Styles, that they have welcomed the birth of their daughter, Rose Joanne Tomlinson-Styles, born at 3:05am on Tuesday 17th September. Baby and fathers are all well, and kindly request privacy at this time as they grow accustomed to their new family dynamic.

Louis and Harry were married last month, in a quiet private ceremony, held on the grounds of their London home, attended only by close friends and family. In comparison, video footage of Louis' proposal on the last night of his Kill My Mind Tour at The Forum in Los Angeles has recently hit 500 million views on YouTube.

A flood of well-wishes and congratulations have been filling social media since the announcement was made, with celebrity friends such as Zayn Malik and Stevie Nicks taking to Twitter to send their best to the couple and their new child, while family members have kept quiet - the usual thing to expect from the Tomlinson-Styles family.

It's uncertain when there will be a public appearance of baby Rose, but we have no doubt that the first image will come from Louis' Instagram - in the same way as his pregnancy was announced mid-tour.

(Also, would it be too early to start taking bets on when the next baby will be born? Here in the office, we're going with in the next eighteen months... what do you think?)'