Archive of Our Own

The sun was still rising slowly warming up the spots it was reaching when Harry opened the door from the main house early that morning. The cheerful sound of his goats being led into the shed for their daily milking far away from him made him smile. He was sipping his morning coffee from an old mug when he noticed Clementine, his favourite goat, being led by Nyoh, his employee and dear friend, to the pasture area as she couldn’t be milked yet. Her round belly was rapidly expanding with her first pregnancy and Harry was nervous, to say the least. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Clementine veer out of her way to greet him.

"Good morning, lovely lady. How's that big tummy of yours?" Harry whispered, petting the goat's belly in a soft caress. Her cheerful bleat made him chuckle and scratch behind her ears.

"She woke up in a good mood today," Nyoh smiled as she walked closer. "I even got small bites because I took too long to open her barn door," she explained.

"It's good to know; I was worried about her; these last few months will be difficult. Her belly is so big, I can't believe she only has two kids in there."

"Me, too," Nyoh agreed as she was bitten again.

"All right, let this lady have her fun or we're going to lose our limbs," Harry joked. "Is everything set for today's field trip? According to what I've been informed, Mr. Tomlinson and his students are supposed to arrive at 9 a.m."

"It's all set, yeah. Niall was just doing a final check before getting the other goats to take them to the pasture,"

"All right, I'll be in the shed in a minute," Harry said, walking back inside.

A few hours later, a bus from Alverton Primary School pulled over next to the trucks, and Harry observed from the shed's door a group of twenty 11-year-olds stepping off the vehicle with their teacher alongside and forming a line. He usually doesn't wear nice clothes to work, only old shirts and ripped jeans. But since it was a special occasion, he decided on something more presentable, so his burgundy and black plaid shirt, skinny jeans, and boots would suffice.

Harry had to fight hard to not let his mouth fall open when he saw — who he supposedly thought was — Mr. Tomlinson, walking closer. The man was gorgeous, with the most beautiful blue eyes Harry had ever seen. The blue of the sky couldn’t be compared to the blue of his eyes. "Mr. Styles?" Harry heard as the man approached him with his group of pre-teens walking close behind.

Harry blinked a few times and cleared his throat. "That would be me. I believe you're Mr. Tomlinson, good morning to you all," He greeted, extending his hand to Louis to shake and smiling at the children, listening to a chorus of "Good morning, Mr. Styles" in return.

"Thank you for having us at your farm, Mr. Styles; the kids are very interested in seeing how things work here." 

Mr. Tomlinson’s soft, raspy voice was doing things to Harry’s brain, and if that was how he sounded first thing in the morning, Harry would fight tooth and nail to listen to it every single day.

"Please call me Harry. I love having visitors on my farm and so do my goats too. They are very docile and love children," Harry explained, with clasped hands and a smile at the students. He had to focus on the students. Focus. Yes. Focus. "Well, here at The Goat Father we raise Saanen goats. They are whitish in colour, and personally, I think they're very cute!" Harry spoke as he turned around, gesturing for the group to follow him inside the shed.

As the group entered, they could see about ten goats lined up with the milking machine attached to them, happily eating. "Here, my goats produce up to 7 litres of milk per day, some of which we use to make cheese," Harry explained.

"Wow, that’s a lot!" One of the students commented.

"Isn't it? The majority of the milk and cheese you buy in town is produced here so that milk and grilled cheese you probably had at breakfast this morning came from here." Harry smiled proudly and looked at Mr. Tomlinson, who was trying to return the smile but was ambushed by Harry’s farm cats, which dashed between his legs.

"Oops, sorry," Harry chuckled as the kids tried to pet the cats. "These are Cheddar, Purrito, and Jiggles, the official Goats' guardians, and they come to check whenever someone they don't know comes inside."

"They're very cute," Mr. Tomlinson commented, getting on his knees to pet the cats with some of his students. Harry thought he should win a prize for not screaming as he saw the man’s face light up when Cheddar purred all cuddled up in the teacher’s arms. 

"Can I pet it?" Harry’s thoughts were interrupted by one of the students poking his left arm. 

"Of course you can, Purrito is a nice guy and enjoys a good scratch behind his ears." The farmer said picking up the Tabby cat and guiding the girl's hand. As the girl played with the cat, Harry noticed that Mr. Tomlinson was already looking at him and smiling, and Harry could feel his face warming up. He nodded towards the teacher, petting Cheddar, and smiled brightly.

"All right, moving on," Harry said, getting up and dusting off his clothes, "when my goats aren’t here, they spend some quality time outside. As our weather isn’t particularly hot, I like to let them out a bit for some fresh air before getting them back to the barn." The man kept explaining as he conducted the students to a pasture area surrounded by a wooden fence, where other goats were wandering around lazily and bleating.

Harry was about to speak when the students’ attention was diverted behind him. He looked behind and saw Niall laughing as he got closer. "Found him almost near the lake this time," he heard the man say, chuckling and pointing to the goat.

"So you've got a fugitive?" Mr. Tomlinson joked, walking closer to Harry.

"Yeah, Brutus is a rebel. Almost every day he finds a new way to escape; we just gave up trying to figure out how he does it and now we just go look for him," Harry explained as he noticed Mr. Tomlinson’s smile getting wider and his blue eyes sparkling. He smiled at the teacher and when he noticed the silence surrounding the three of them, Harry cleared his throat and did the introductions. "Niall, this is Mr. Tomlinson and his students from Alverton."

"If I’m to call you Harry, please call me Louis," Louis said to Harry. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The teacher smiled and shook Niall’s hand.

"Nice to meet you and welcome everyone!" Niall greeted cheerfully. "I hope you all have a good time, and don't forget to ask Harry to feed the goats; that's the best part!"

"Can we feed the goats?" asked one of Louis' students.

"Not the goats, the kids," Niall replied, pretending to whisper and covering his mouth with his hand half-way.

When Harry saw the children's puzzled expressions, he laughed a little and explained, "Baby goats are called kids." Louis' students became even more ecstatic at the realisation and began chatting nonstop.

"All right, all right, simmer down!" Louis said, clapping his hands to draw the students' attention.

"Come on, let's get Brutus back so you can get a little closer to the goats," Harry said as he began walking alongside Niall.

"Yeah, let's take this mischievous one back,"

"Don't say that, Niall; Brutus isn't all that bad—OUCH!" Harry had barely finished speaking when he was headbutted by Brutus and stumbled forward, much to everyone's amusement. "Et Tu, Brute?" He exclaimed indignantly, looking at the goat and rubbing his ass.

"He always gets headbutted whenever he’s close to Brutus, and yet he still gets surprised every time," Niall said, making Louis chuckle and checking if his students were still following them.

They approached the wood fence, and Niall opened the gate to lead Brutus to the other goats. The children stepped closer to the fence, and Louis stood behind the group, watching their interaction with the animals. Harry leaned on the fence and placed his left leg on the wood for support. The goats were curious about the presence of the audience and approached slowly, with Harry reassuring everyone that the goats were tame. A few brave students reached out to pet some of them.

"One of the things I love about goats is that their pupils are rectangular, so they have a vision of 320 to 340 degrees, which is vastly different from our vision of 160-210 degrees," Harry explained as he looked around as if he was looking for something, "Oh there he is, Boris!" He called in a much higher tone of voice than he normally uses, and one of the goats calmly approached him. "Good boy!" He praised, petting the animal. He kneeled and turned the goat’s head by its chin, signalling to the kids to come closer. Harry showed Boris’ eyes and Louis smiled as the kids were awed at the sight.

The rest of the visit went well; Louis' students enjoyed feeding the kids, each one taking turns holding the bottle. At the end of the visit, they all politely thanked Harry and Niall for their time, and Harry invited them to return. Even though Louis’ students were all lovely, Harry was more interested in their teacher, so when the farmer noticed that said man was looking at him interacting with the students, he winked at him. He heard giggles coming from his side and realised the students had caught him, and he blushed. "Oops," he said, fixing his hat. 

"Mr. Tomlinson is single, you know?" One of the girls whispered.

"Oh, is he now?" Harry spoke, trying to not look interested.

"Yeah, we heard him talking to Ms. Sandberg a few months ago that he broke up with his boyfriend," the other girl spoke.

"Mm, so you think I can ask him on a date?" 

"You definitely should! You’re handsome, he wouldn’t say no!"

"Jess, you shouldn’t say that!" Another student reprimanded, and the four of them giggled at that. 

"All right, time to go! Everyone please, back to the bus," Louis’ voice interrupted their interaction. The girls giggled once more and said their goodbyes to Harry running to the bus. 

As the students stepped onto the bus, Harry walked closer, barely hiding his smirk. He waited for everyone to be inside and cleared his throat, making Louis look at him.

"So, Louis, I hope you had a good time and that it was beneficial to your students," Harry smirked, eyeing Louis up and down.

"Yes, it was productive, and there's no way they didn't enjoy it. They'll be talking about it for days. Thank you for having us; everyone here has been extremely pleasant." Harry noticed the man’s cheek turning pink.

"Only the employees? Isn't the owner included?" He knew he had caught Louis off guard when he saw the man’s eyes widen slightly. Their interaction was interrupted when they heard giggles above them and saw Louis’ students looking out the window.

"Oi! Go back to your seats, there's nothing to see here!" Louis waved his hand in the air and then ran it through his hair.

Harry, along with the other students, laughed, and they returned to their seats; the farmer was still smiling, looking at Louis expectantly. Louis cleared his throat, blushing, and Harry was endeared by it. "So, about the owner… He was the most pleasant of them all."

"Does that mean he'll get another visit?" Harry smirked as he grasped his hands behind his back and popped out a hip, drawing the attention of Louis' eyes to it.

"I'd say yes," Louis said, tugging on his shirt, looking for something to tinker with.

"Would a date at The Ship next Friday also be an option?"

"It sure would be," Louis replied, chuckling.

The cheering from inside the bus interrupted their conversation, causing Louis to gasp in surprise. "I'm going to give you so much homework that you'll be doing it until graduation day!" Louis playfully threatened, and the students sat back down.

Harry pulled his phone from his back pocket and handed it to Louis. "Here, save your number and I'll text you later."

Louis saved the contact and returned the device. "I will be waiting." He boarded the bus and waved goodbye to Harry as it drove away.

Later that night, Harry texted Louis, saying he was looking forward to their date next Friday, and Louis texted back, agreeing. It had been a long time since Harry had a proper boyfriend, and Louis accepting his invitation for the date got him excited about it. 

Friday came and Harry was already at the bar talking to Pauli, a great friend and the bar owner. He was telling how he met Louis when he saw the teacher walking into the bar, and he knew he was about to start drooling. Harry knew he made a great choice when he decided to wear all black, leaving his button-up shirt open a few inches, showing his tattoos, his golden boots, and curls falling loose on his shoulders, but he didn’t know Louis could look hotter than he did the first time they met. He was wearing a grey button-up shirt, a black blazer, cropped trousers that exposed his ankles, and black shoes. 

"Louis!" Harry greeted after finding his voice again. He heard Pauli chuckling beside him and shook his head. "You came," Harry whispered, holding Louis, and the man could breathe in his cologne. 

"I did," Louis whispered back, smiling. "Do you come here often?" He asked as they stepped apart.

"I do," Harry said, motioning to the tall black man behind the bar. "Pauli is a great friend of mine, and also the owner of this wonderful place."

"So you’re Louis, the teacher? Harry was telling me about the field trip to his farm and how he was attacked by Brutus, embarrassing himself in front of you," Pauli joked, giving small taps on Harry’s back. 

"That menace is always embarrassing me in front of everyone. It should be considered a crime." Harry mumbled, messing with his hair and throwing it back.

"I have to say that it was the highlight of the day. A real demonstration of goats' behaviour in real-time to my students." Pauli and Harry laughed out loud at that, and Harry stood up from the seat where he was resting his hand on Louis’ lower back. 

"Okay lovebirds, find a seat and I’ll bring you your drinks in a moment," Pauli said, as he got a few glasses from behind him at the bar. 

"Thanks for inviting me here, it’s been a while since I came last time," Louis said, sitting down. Harry sighed contently, feeling the warmth coming from Louis’ thigh touching his own. The smell of his cologne invaded his space again, making him smile at that.

"I love it here and Pauli is the best. They’re one of my best friends here, so it’s always a pleasure to come here," Harry explained, running his fingers through his curls and pushing them to the side.

"Oh, I didn’t know that. I used to come here with some friends, but lately, things are pretty busy with school, so when I get some free time I only think about sleeping through the weekend." 

Harry chuckled, "I bet you've got your hands full with those students."

"Oh boy, that I do!" Louis laughed. "Every day is a new preteen struggle, and I remember my siblings doing the same, and the cycle never ends,"

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Are you sure you’re ready for this topic?" Louis joked. "I have five siblings, four of them are two sets of twins," he said.

"Are you joking?" Harry blurted out, incredulous.

"I’m not, I’m not! I’m serious!" The teacher said, still laughing. 

They spent a long time talking about Louis' siblings, with the teacher telling a few funny stories. Harry couldn’t stop staring at Louis' eyes and red lips as he spoke. 

"So Jess started saying how that Billie Eilish t-shirt was so important because no one at school had it and she wanted to wear it to go to Mitch’s and show it off,"

Louis stopped speaking as Pauli approached with their beverages and food. Harry placed their fish ‘n’ chips basket between them so they could share, and Louis spoke again. "All right, that's enough for me. Tell me about yourself, and how you came to own a goat farm."

"The owners were my uncle and his wife, but they were too old to keep up with the routine and decided to sell the farm. And when I was a kid, I used to spend my school holidays there, and I loved it, so I persuaded them not to sell the farm and teach me how to manage it, and when I thought I knew enough, I took over, and now they just enjoy living by the beach while I deal with Brutus," Harry explained, chuckling when he mentioned the goat.

"And when I said that Brutus played a significant role in my decision to accept your invitation, I wasn’t lying," Louis laughed.

Harry laughed along with him and sipped his drink. "Okay, I promise I'm not going to ground him anymore."

"I can't believe he's that nasty," he said.

"Wait until you get buttheaded," Harry snorted, nearly spilling his drink.

"Is this an invitation to come to your farm and test it?" Louis asked, leaning forward. Harry took the hint and licked his lips, moving forward as well. "It definitely is," he replied, not wasting any more time and kissing Louis.

Louis' lips were soft, and Harry couldn't stop himself from sighing. He slipped his hand behind Louis' neck. The gesture made the man open his mouth as an invitation, which Harry promptly accepted by invading Louis' mouth with his tongue. He barely held the moan in his throat when their tongues touched, and Louis' fingers tightened his grip on his shirt, drawing Harry closer.

Harry scratched behind Louis' neck and felt the teacher's hips close in on him, letting out a low whimper. Harry's pants tightened and he drew back. "Sorry," he apologised sheepishly, his gaze fixed on Louis' blue orbs.

"It's fine, I'm not complaining," Louis chuckled as he ran his fingers through his fringe and looked down, letting it be clear he was in the same situation.

They talked and kissed for a while longer, and at the end of the date, Harry offered to drive Louis home because he was on his way to the farm. When they pulled up in front of Louis' house, Harry couldn't stop kissing him. That man was addictive, and Harry could tell by the way Louis reacted that the feeling was mutual. They laughed when they finally untangled themselves from each other and said their goodbyes. After Louis closed his door, Harry sped up in his Range Rover and returned to the farm.

Harry left Louis' house with a grin that hurt his face. He drove to his farm, his fingers touching his mouth right where Louis had kissed him. He parked his car and went to check on Clementine. He entered the barn and went to her stable; the goat was sound asleep, so he gently caressed her belly before leaving for his house. After showering, he texted Louis goodnight and laid down to sleep.

Days have turned into weeks since their first date. Harry was aware that Louis was preoccupied with school while he was with his beloved goats, but that didn't stop them from texting each other whenever they could. He was telling Louis how stressed he was because Clementine was now heavily pregnant, the cheese festival was approaching, and his mind was racing.

Harry missed Louis so much that he called the teacher after quickly checking the time on his phone. "I think we should see each other again," he said as soon as Louis answered the phone. 

"Woah, hello there! I miss you too." He heard Louis chuckle and then a thump. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I just got home, dropped my bag and took off my shoes, and now," Louis groaned, "I’m on the sofa ignoring everything because I’m too fucking tired." Harry hummed. "What?" 

"Nothing, I just… Nah, nevermind," Harry stuttered and faked a cough. His face was burning.

"Come on, tell me. I want to know!"

"I uh… I just…"

"Harry, spit it out!" Louis laughed.

"I wish I was there with you laying on the sofa. There, I said it! Happy?" Harry laughed along.

"Awn, aren't you cute?" 

"Shut up," Harry mumbled, playing with the hem of his shirt.

"I’m not complaining, you know. I wish you were here too,"

Harry’s brows drew together when he heard Louis’ muffled voice, "What are you doing?"

"I’m hugging my cushion and pretending it’s you," 

Harry wanted to combust with that information, so he had to bite his shirt collar for comfort. "So, what do you say about coming over for dinner tomorrow night?" He asked, biting his lip.

"I’d say yes,"

"And what about you coming a bit early so you can see Clementine and the kids?"

"I’d very much say yes!" Louis laughed.

"Okay, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at 4 pm then,"

"It’s a date,"

"See you tomorrow, Lou."

When Harry rang the doorbell at the agreed-upon time, he was greeted by Louis, who had just gotten out of the shower. He was barefoot and dressed in a long-sleeved burgundy shirt and black pants.

"Hi Harry, come in," Louis says, smiling and opening the door for him. He was using a towel to dry his hair.

Harry noticed his hands were sweating and tried to dry them on his pants. "Did I arrive too early, Lou?"

"No, no, no. I lost track of time and fell asleep while watching TV, but I'll be ready in a minute. All I have to do now is fix my hair and put on my contacts."

"You have a nice house," the farmer observed as he looked around.

"Thanks. Please take a seat; I'll be right back," Louis left the room, and Harry took the opportunity to inspect the décor. The walls were covered in photos of Louis and who Harry assumed was the teacher’s family. The coffee table was very interesting; there were some books scattered around, as well as some lessons from the students and a small cactus. Harry smiled at that and sat down on the couch in front of the coffee table.

It wasn't long before Louis returned to the room. "I'm ready," he said, pulling on a brown and beige Adidas and pulling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows.

Harry swallowed hard and wiped his hands on his pants once more. "Okay, let's go."

When they arrived at the farm, Harry stopped by the main house to get a pair of wellies so Louis could walk around without any problems and then went to the barn. When Harry opened the door, a chorus of bleatings greeted them, and he saw a wide smile form on Louis' face.

"Uh-oh, I’m creating a monster, aren’t I?" Harry joked.

"Shut up and show me these babies!" Louis laughed as he walked into the barn, rubbing his hands together.

As they got closer to one of the stables, Harry called out again in that high-pitched voice, "Hot Stuff!"

Louis doubled over in laughter, clutching his stomach. "Hot Stuff? Seriously?"

"Stop judging my name choices!" Harry laughed along, but he was aware that his face was hot and red.

"You know you're making it difficult, don't you? But tell me why you use this voice when you call them; you did the same thing the last time I came here,"

"Goats respond when you call them by their names; they recognise it, but the same way you get a better response when you call them with a cute voice or a specific sound," Harry explained as he crouched down when he felt Hot Stuff slightly headbutt him. "Hey, baby girl, where are your kids?" He was petting the goat's head when he heard more bleats and two kids emerged from the stable.

"All right, let's start with proper introductions. "Louis, this is Hot Stuff, Mochi, and Gus," Harry said as he sat down on the floor, being licked on the face by the kids.  It was one of those times he was sure he made the right decision when he accepted taking care of the farm. All the goats were loving and the kids were always excited when he took some time to visit them. He scraped behind their ears and bellies hearing them bleating in satisfaction.

"They're so cute, Haz," Louis said as he sat beside Harry and right after one of the kids forgot all about Harry and started licking Louis’ face who laughed in delight.

"Haz?" Harry inquired, his brow furrowed but his smile unabated.

"Well, since you called me Lou last night, I think it's fair to call you Haz."

"I like it," Harry said, showing his dimples.

"You better! Oh!" Louis was interrupted by Gus straddling his lap and biting him lightly in the chin. 

Harry knew that was the moment he was totally gone for Louis. He couldn’t stop staring and smiling as the teacher played and spoke softly with the kid, getting soft bleatings in response. Louis’ eyes were almost closed and the corners were wrinkling and his laugh was making Harry’s stomach flutter. Nyoh arrived a few moments later with two milk bottles. The two kids stormed towards her, almost knocking Harry and Louis over as they ran to the blonde woman.

"All right, you two, chill!" She said to the kids as she handed Harry the two bottles. "You take care of them, and I'll get the others outside to feed." Nyoh laughed as the two baby goats ignored her and concentrated on the bottles in Harry's hands.

She opened the other stables and made the same sound Harry made earlier, and a half-dozen other kids left their stables, running outside.

"Oh my goodness, they're desperate!" Louis laughed at the scene. "Does this happen every day?"

"You mean, every time they feed?"

"How many times do they feed in a day?" Louis asked, lifting one of his brows.

"Right now, 3-4 times per day," Harry answered, laughing.

"Holy shit! That's insane!"

"I know, but I wouldn’t trade any of this for the world. It’s so heartwarming to see them like this”, Harry smiled contentedly. “Here, you hold the bottle like this, and let him do the rest," Harry instructed as he placed the bottle in Louis' hand, and Gus immediately sucked on it eagerly.

“Oh my goodness!" Louis said, trying to keep a tight hold on the bottle as Harry laughed, with Mochi doing the same on his lap.

When they were all done Harry led Louis to the main house, stopping by the shed to leave the bottles with Nyoh. He could see that Louis was still giddy about feeding the kids, and the farmer couldn’t hide his smile. "I’m glad you had fun with the kids," he said, opening the door after they left their wellies by it.

"I did! They’re so cute and eager! I’d do it every day if I could," Louis’ eyes were crinkling with how big he was smiling.

Harry’s smile was wide in delight as he raised his eyebrows, "Would you?" 

"I mean, I’d be no good for the business because I’d want to be with them all day and do nothing else, but yeah, I would."

Harry felt his heart grow twice its size with that answer, dimples on full display. 

"What?" He heard Louis ask, looking confused.

"Nothing! So," Harry quickly answered, clearing his throat, "I thought about making something simple for us to eat, I want us to have a quiet night tonight," he turned in the direction of the kitchen, heading towards it.

"No, no, no, no. You won’t get away that easily! Tell me what it is?" Louis said, following Harry.

"It’s nothing, I told you,"

"Harreh!"

"Loueh!" 

They both mocked and laughed at each other. As Harry opened the fridge, Louis stood at the head of the table at the centre of the kitchen. 

"Don’t be a prick and tell me!" Louis insisted.

"Aren’t you curious?" Harry joked. He was glad he was getting the vegetables from inside the fridge, so Louis wouldn’t notice him blushing.

"I am, so what? Now tell me!"

"I just… thought your answer was cute!" He put some tomatoes and lettuce on the table, signalling Louis to start preparing the salad and avoid looking at the man. 

"Aww, isn’t he blushing now?" Louis quipped teasingly as he washed the vegetables. Harry stopped right by his side, handing him other ingredients and a knife.

"Shuddup," he mumbled, bumping their hips.

They prepared their dinner together, and that made Harry feel his body warm up inside at the thought of being domestic. They worked around each other in perfect sync, and when Harry decided to plug in his phone on the speaker to listen to his playlist, it became more evident. 

When they were done, they happily ate while the conversation flowed easily regardless of the topic. Harry loved making Louis laugh. It resonated around the kitchen, and the fact that Louis held his belly, leaning his head back, eyes crinkling in joy, only made Harry try harder and harder to see that happening more often.

Later, when they were done and the dishes were cleaned, Harry opened a bottle of red wine. He set the glasses on the coffee table and lit the fireplace. "It gets a bit chilly here at night," he explained, handing Louis one of the glasses and getting his own, sitting next to Louis. 

"Yeah, I can feel it." Louis pulled the sleeves of his shirt over one of his hands. 

"Here," Harry said as he reached behind the sofa for the light blue fuzzy blanket. He put the glass back on the table before carefully covering Louis with it. The teacher leaned over, positioning himself over Harry’s chest, and when the farmer heard a content sound, he knew Louis was comfortable enough for him to circle his arm around Louis’ waist under the blanket, holding him tight against him. 

"It’s so nice here," Louis whispered. They watched the fire for a moment while waiting for their bodies to be in a nice heat.

"I’m glad you think so. I’d love it if you came more often." Harry whispered back close to Louis’ ear and felt the man shiver. He pulled Louis against him one more time as the teacher turned his head so they could kiss. Harry traced his tongue over Louis’ lips, waiting for him to give access. They deepened the kiss, and Harry couldn’t help caressing Louis’ stomach while still kissing him. He heard Louis sigh at the gesture. Harry blindly reached for the empty glass in Louis’ hand to put on the ground when the teacher turned around and was laying over him. They made out for quite some time, and later, Harry took Louis back home. 

The couple kept texting each other for the next few days, and Harry was over the moon. Louis brought out the best in him and their banter always made him laugh, which caught the attention of his friends and employees. Harry lost count of how many times he was seen chuckling at his phone around the farm. 

Clementine’s pregnancy was in its final stages, so she was due any day now. Harry was constantly on edge with nerves, and it was hard for him to leave the shed for the night. He’d sleep with Clementine if he could. 

"H, you have to relax," Harry heard Louis say through his phone. The device was on speaker while he was getting ready for bed.

"I know," he whined, after spitting the toothpaste foam in the sink. "But it’s Clementine and it’s her first time." Harry let out a deep sigh before opening the tap and finishing brushing his teeth.

"And what about the father?" 

"He keeps trying to escape from the farm." 

"Wait, Brutus is the father?!" Harry snorted loud at Louis’ surprise.

"Why the surprise?" 

"I was expecting someone more responsible to be honest," Louis sighed playfully.

Harry giggled at that and took off his shirt, laying down only in his briefs and covering his body. He brought his phone close to his ear and sighed. 

"On the bed?" Louis asked. 

"Yeah," 

"Now stop being paranoid and get some sleep, I don’t want to see your beautiful face tomorrow with dark circles under your eyes," Louis chuckled.

"Yes, sir. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lou."

"Night, H."

"How’s our soon-to-be Mom?" Louis asked as soon as Harry sat beside him at the table.

"Woah, I’m not even going to get a hello kiss?" 

"Nope, I could see the wrinkles on your brows from the moment you walked into this pub, so let’s get over it soon so I can have my b- you back to your normal self," 

Harry caught Louis’ slip but decided to not mention it as he saw the man’s face reddening a bit. He took a sip of his beer to hide his smile before answering.

Harry sighed. "Clementine is fine. She was a bit tired when I left, but fine." 

"Good, so now you can relax and enjoy the night with me," Louis said, leaning in to kiss Harry on the lips.

Their night was going great. Harry was happy to know they had so many topics to talk about, even though they texted each other so often, and to his heart's content, Louis was as affectionate as him. He loved touching as much as Harry did and gave small kisses in between conversation and sipping on their drinks. It was in one of these moments when Harry’s phone rang. He took the device out of his pocket and saw Nyoh’s name on the screen. He frowned at that. The woman rarely called him, and it was always when she was out doing farm chores and errands. 

He felt a chill in his spine as he answered the call. Nyoh apologised profusely for interrupting his date and told Harry the news he was anxious about; Clementine was in labour. 

"Is it Clementine? Is she fine?" Louis asked, touching Harry’s hand when he hung up. Harry was touched by the man’s concern and nodded. He stuttered as he explained what was going on. "Okay, everything is fine, just take a deep breath. Do you have everything you need with you?" Louis asked, looking around the table.

"Yeah, yeah, I’m just… Okay, I should- I should go." Harry stood up abruptly, bumping into the table and almost spilling their drinks.

"Easy there," Louis said, holding the table steady as he stood up. "Let’s go. Do you want me to drive you home? You seem a bit nervous," He offered.

"No, I’m okay to drive. It’s just… It’s Clementine. She has a soft spot in my heart and it’s her first, but I’m okay." Harry explained. 

They walked outside the pub, and when they reached Harry’s car, he felt Louis’ arms around his neck. "It’s going to be fine," The man whispered in his ear. Harry nodded, tightening his hold around Louis’ waist. "Call me if you need anything, alright? No matter what the time is."

When Harry got to his farm, he stopped first at home to change and ran to the barn, finding Niall and Nyoh there, with Clementine resting her head on the woman’s lap. 

"How is everything?" Harry asked, caressing Clementine’s head and receiving a weak bleat. 

"She’s holding on fine and being a brave girl, aren’t you?" Nyoh softly spoke to the goat.

The night was long, Clementine’s labour took around 12 hours, but to everyone, it was worth it as they were gifted with the gorgeous kids. By the end of everything, they were all exhausted, and Clementine was contently feeding her babies. Before leaving the barn, Harry took a photo of the new family and sent it to Louis. He walked back home to clean up, and as soon as his body hit the bed, he fell asleep right away.

Meet Alfafa and Bam-Bam

Harry woke up the next day to the sound of his alarm, he was still tired and groaned wishing he could sleep more. He checked his phone and found a text from Louis waiting for him. He smiled at that and opened the message so he could read it. There was a sequence of heart-eyes emojis and an excited Louis saying he couldn’t wait to meet the kids in person. It was too early yet, so Harry didn’t answer the text. He just plugged his phone into charge and went straight to his bathroom. 

He let the warm water run through his body as he washed himself clean. He put some shampoo in his hand and washed his hair as well. When he felt clean enough, he dried and wrapped the towel around his waist, walking back to his room to get dressed.

He made some coffee and toast for breakfast, and as soon as he was done, he went straight to the barn to check on Clementine and her kids. Alfafa and Bam-Bam were asleep when he reached Clementine’s stable and the goat was licking her babies clean. She let out a soft bleat as soon as she saw Harry, and the man smiled at that feeling, his heart melting. As much as Harry wanted to spend more time with the new family, he had work to do, so with a sore heart, he left the barn and went to find Niall and Nyoh.

By lunchtime, Harry was heading home when he took his phone from his pocket and texted Louis. He left the device on the table and opened the fridge to check what he had to eat. He still had some leftovers from yesterday’s lunch and made some salad to eat with it. He was checking the latest news when a notification slid down on his phone. He laughed out loud when Louis dismissed his answer, asking for more pictures of the goats.

Now, will you greet me? He texted after sending the pictures. He almost spat his juice when he got a Hi, Harry :) right after. He took some time deciding whether to call Louis or not, but in the end, he hit the call button and waited. It didn’t take long for Louis to answer.

"So, this is how it’s going to be then. You’ll only talk to me if I spoil you with the kids’ pictures, I see, I see," Louis’ barked laughter made Harry smile so big his face hurt.

"We’re talking about priorities here, Harold," Louis said after catching his breath.

"I’ll never let you put a foot on my farm ever again," the farmer joked.

"Oh really? We’ll see that next time we meet." 

"Can’t wait for that to happen," Harry spoke softly, hearing Louis agree. "How’ve you been?" He was playing with a leaf of lettuce, waiting for the teacher to answer.

"I was the one supposed to ask that, don’t you think? But yeah, I’m fine. You?" 

"I am good. I… miss you." Harry felt his face burn with the confession, but he didn’t want to keep that feeling to himself. Louis had been so responsive about their relationship so far, that it seemed impossible to Harry that the teacher wouldn’t reciprocate the feeling. There was a small silence between them, but soon it was filled with Louis’ voice.

"Me too, Harry."

"I’m sorry for calling without a warning, I don’t even know if you’re available, I just-" Harry trailed.

Louis’ giggle made Harry tighten his grip on the phone. "I am. I’m on a lunch break right now, so it’s fine." 

"Can I see you tonight?" Subtlety had already flown out of the window at this point, so why not ask.

"With one condition,"

"I’ll make a photoshoot of the kids just for you, I promise." 

Harry heard Louis cackling on the other side and chuckled to himself. "Besides that!" Louis said, between laughs. "Anything, just ask me." He was positive that his lower lip was going to bleed anytime now with how hard he was biting it.

"No pubs today. I want somewhere quiet, just the two of us." Louis’ voice was quiet, and Harry could hear it cracking a bit. He gulped and nodded, "Okay, I can go to yours- or you can come to mine again," he quickly offered.

They decided that Harry was going to Louis’ with a promise of a nice dinner and a quiet night. The rest of the day was quite uneventful for Harry, with a few stops here and there to take photos of the kids and Clementine as he had promised Louis.

Later that night, Harry showered and changed into some comfortable jeans and a black jumper, along with his black Vans and drove to Louis’. It didn’t take long after knocking at the man’s door for it to be opened. He barely greeted the teacher when he was pulled in, feeling Louis’ hands circling his waist and neck and Louis’ soft lips touching his. He let himself get lost into the kiss, and when he felt Louis’ tongue pressing against his lips, he welcomed it as they deepened the kiss. He pulled the teacher against his body by the hips, pressing their bodies together and sighed. He let his hands run up and down Louis’ back and felt the man shiver. When they parted ways, they were both breathless and smiling at each other.

"Hello, Harry," Louis said, his eyes crinkling.

"I’ll spend more days apart if it means I’ll get to be kissed like this every time we see each other," Harry joked, pecking Louis one more time.

"I can kiss you like this without being apart for that long, you idiot!" Louis slapped Harry’s arm playfully, and Harry let himself be pulled into the house as he chuckled. He left his shoes by the door, and Louis gave him a tour around the house. 

Harry couldn’t help but every time they stopped in a room he’d circle his hands around Louis’ waist from the back and give the teacher’s neck small kisses. 

“You’re so addictive, I can’t help,” He said between the small kisses.

“I’m pretty sure you’re not hearing any complaining,” Louis chuckled.

“I… I was thinking about us,” Harry spoke as he turned Louis around, his hands caressing Louis’ low back. 

“Uh-oh, what about it?” Louis tugged a strand of Harry’s curl.

“We could- I mean, I think I’m not the only one feeling like we’re more serious than just going out for dates? So, uh…”

“You want me to be your boyfriend,” Louis sang and smiled.

Harry laughed at that but was internally thankful for Louis and him being so in tune. “You’re an idiot and I just changed my mind,” He played along.

“Nah-ah, too late for that!”

“It is not! You didn’t even answer me,”

“Who said I didn’t? You’re getting old, Harold and deaf.” They laugh at each other and Harry felt Louis’ lips on his and he kissed back. “I’d love that,” Louis whispered. They kissed again and Harry felt Louis stepping away from him. “Come on, dinner’s getting cold.” Harry groaned but followed Louis to the kitchen, holding the teacher’s hand.

“Stop complaining, you still have to show me the kids’ pics,” 

Harry snorted at that, shaking his head. He was so gone for Louis that he couldn’t even argue that.

The dinner went smoothly and when they were done and the kitchen cleaned, Louis made them tea and led them to the couch in the living room so Harry could show him the kids’ photos Harry took earlier. Louis gushed over them and asked more questions about the babies and how the farm was as well as everyone he had met since the field trip. Harry told him everything about it and that the cheese local festival was to happen in a few weeks. 

“So basically you’re having a stand selling your cheese?” Louis asked, confirming if he got all the information right. 

“Yeah. I also take the opportunity to sell some milk too and other products we make at the farm. This year we’ll have some other types of food. Nyoh spent weeks trying recipes and I’m pretty sure we’ll sell them pretty quickly as well,” Harry explained, moving closer to Louis and snuggling. 

When Harry felt Louis got himself comfortable, he slid his hand under the teacher’s shirt and started caressing his belly hearing Louis sigh. “What recipes did she try?” 

“For this year she tried curry, and cajeta casera. They taste really good! I’ll try to save you some if you want,” 

“Oh, I surely want the curry. I’m not sure about the cajeta casera?” Louis’ tone was unsure about the word.

“It’s a type of dulce de leche, it’s so good!” Harry explained excitedly drawing the ‘o’ in ‘so’.  “She found this recipe where you can use Mexican vanilla and it was a godsend!” Harry saw Louis’ brows rising in interest and took note to bring Louis some of it before the festival.

“Okay, you’ve got all my attention now,” Louis said, turning around a bit and smiling. Harry chuckled at that and took the chance to peck Louis’ lips.

The pecks turned into full blown kisses and it didn't take long for the energy of the night to shift and both headed back to Louis’ bedroom. It was late and both were exhausted by the time they were both satiated, falling asleep in each other’s arms.

As the weeks had passed, they were frequently sleeping at each other’s houses. It was more common for Louis to sleep at Harry’s as the farmer woke up earlier and when he had everything set he’d take Louis to school. The first time Louis’ students saw Harry, they giggled and waved at him. Louis caught that and also saw Harry winking at them as he waved smiling. 

“You have some explaining to do later,” Louis’ playfully threatened, pointing his finger at Harry.

“I know nothing of what you’re talking about,” Harry joked, kissing Louis and opening the passenger’s door.

The festival was happening on the weekend and Harry was getting everything ready with Nyoh and Niall. The truck was loaded with all the cheese they had planned to sell, the only things missing were the small pots with fudge, curry, yoghurt and the cajeta casera that would be in the truck before they had left for the festival.

On said day, Harry woke up to a text from Niall apologising that he wouldn’t be able to help at the fair due to a family problem so he had to head back to his parents’ house in the middle of the night.

Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Without Niall’s help, things would be tough with only him and Nyoh. He got ready and fixed a cup of coffee and headed to the truck to finish loading it, where he already found Nyoh carrying a  few boxes.

“I got Niall’s text too, so I came a bit earlier,” She explained when she saw Harry.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a tough day today,” He said, stepping up the truck and getting the box from her.

“We’ll manage it, though, don’t worry,” She consoled, smiling a little.

The stand was crowded by the middle of the morning when Harry saw Louis approaching. He felt a bit guilty for not paying much attention to his boyfriend as he handed some change to a lady and her purchase. He waved quickly so Louis would be aware Harry saw him and turned his attention to the next customer.

“A little bit crowded here, innit?” Louis asked, looking around. 

“Yeah,” Harry handed a bag to the next customer, getting the money from them. “It’s been a tough morning,” he finally looked at Louis and leaned to kiss his boyfriend.

“Where is everyone? I thought Nyoh and Niall would be helping you?”

“Niall had a family matter to solve and had to go back to Ireland this early morning, and I told Nyoh to have a short break,”

“You should have called me. Why didn’t you call me?” Louis said as he took off his coat.

“It was too early, Lou and you were asleep, besides I thought Nyoh and I would handle it, we just didn’t expect for it to be this crowded this year,”

“Still, you should have called me, Haz, there’s no cute animals here for me to be distracted, I can handle the sales,” Louis joked. Harry watched him smiling at a customer and helping them with their purchase.

Harry admired Louis for a while, he was so gentle and kind with the people at their stand especially with the children. He played with a baby girl in the arms of a woman, grabbing their small hand pretending to be punched and watching the little girl giggle. Louis’ eyes crinkled as he laughed at the baby making funny faces to make her giggle even more.

Harry was brought back to reality when he felt fingers on his lips. He blinked rapidly looking at who was touching his lips and he found Nyoh laughing at him.

“There was some drool rolling down,” She said between the laughs.

“I hate you,” He mumbled, feeling his face burning.

“You don’t. You love me, but not as much as you love Louis.” Those words took Harry by surprise. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re so obvious, H.” 

Harry looked at Louis again and realised that Nyoh was right; he loved Louis. He smiled at the realisation and looked back at the woman, “I do. I love him.”

“You should tell him.”

Late that night the three of them were back to the farm, Harry stayed behind with Nyoh to stock the boxes they didn’t sell. His lower back was stiff as he massaged it walking back to his house. Harry had barely opened the door when Louis welcomed him with a glass of water half full and an Advil.

“I’d carry you to the bed and kiss you senseless if I could right now,” He said with a tired smile.

Louis smiled at that, biting his lower lip and pulled Harry by the hand. “Come, I ran a bath for you.”

I love you , Harry wanted to say but he chose to wait for a more appropriate moment and not when he was feeling like he wouldn’t ever walk again. They took their time washing each other’s back, Harry felt Louis’ hands working on a few knots as he sighed, relaxing his body and letting the Advil do its magic as he felt sleep intoxicate his mind. “I’m almost done,” Harry heard Louis whispering and depositing a kiss on his right shoulder. He let his body rest on Louis’ chest and closed his eyes.

Louis’ hands seemed to be everywhere, caressing his chest and stomach running up and down making him sigh in content. “Mhm, wouldn’t mind staying here, though,” Harry mumbled. He felt his body jerk a bit with Louis chuckling and lifted his left brow in question.

“As much as I’d love to stay here with you too, I’m afraid we’re already getting wrinkled.”

“Mm that,” Harry grumbled.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Louis laughed, helping Harry to get out of the bathtub.

The two slowly dried off and went to the bedroom, Harry lending one of his boxers to Louis. They lay on the bed, getting comfortable and feeling the tiredness of the day take over their bodies. Harry’s back was to Louis’ chest and he pulled the teacher’s arm around his waist holding it there.

"Thanks for today," Harry muttered before falling asleep.

“Anytime. And I had a great time, I wouldn't mind doing it again next year.”

"I would love to," Harry sighed, feeling Louis leave small kisses on his shoulder.

It wasn't an I love you , but he knew that day would come soon.

Fin