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Harry has never been happier to hear the sound of a baby crying than he is right now. It’s not a pleasant noise by any means, but it signals the presence of his and Louis’ newborn daughter, which makes it music to his ears.
“Shh, darling, it’s alright. Daddy’s got you,” Louis coos to her as Harry shuts their front door behind them and sets the diaper bag down on the floor.
They’ve just arrived home after spending hours at the hospital waiting for their little bundle of joy to arrive. Now, watching his husband gently consoling her reminds Harry that the wait was more than worth it. Louis looks rumpled and worn out, his sweats wrinkled and his eyes red and puffy from crying after getting to hold their baby for the first time, but Harry thinks he’s never been more beautiful. Because now, not only is Louis his husband, but he’s the father of his children. And there’s no better sight in the world than the two loves of his life next to each other.
Harry moves to stand by Louis and lays a gentle hand on the small of his back. “Don’t cry my love,” he murmurs to Layla, softly wiping the tears from her smooth cheeks. Louis leans into Harry’s touch and continues to rock her. “I think she’s hungry again,” Harry suggests.
Louis hums. “Alright, I’ll go make her some formula. I know you’re dying to hold her again,” he smirks, carefully handing Layla to Harry. He’s absolutely right; Harry basically never wants to stop holding their gorgeous little girl in his arms. He cradles her lovingly, supporting the back of her head with his hand. Louis presses a quick kiss to Harry’s temple before scurrying into the kitchen to prepare Layla’s bottle.
Layla is still sobbing, albeit not as loudly as she had been before. The pained expression on her tiny features absolutely breaks Harry’s heart. He wishes he could protect her from every bad thing in the world, even the short bout of hunger between now and when Louis returns with her formula. He rocks her as Louis had been doing, quietly humming a made-up tune.
He just stares at her while he tries to soothe her, unable to process the fact that he’s looking at his very own child. His very own child that he’s raising with his soulmate. It’s everything he’s ever dreamed of and more. He and Louis have been through so much to get where they are today, and even though things were hard and tumultuous at times, Harry wouldn’t change any of it, because it all led him to this moment, with an angel in his arms and another one just a few steps away in his kitchen.
Said angel in the kitchen is back in the front room, bottle in hand, before Harry knows it. “Love, why didn’t you sit down or something?” Louis asks, his brows furrowed but his blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
Harry giggles, not looking up from Layla while Louis approaches them. “Got a bit distracted, I guess,” he admits. Louis comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his husband’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder.
“Let’s go to the couch, yeah, babe?” he purrs into Harry’s ear, smiling against his skin. Louis releases Harry from his grip and leads him to the couch in the living room where they both sit, Louis snuggling into Harry’s side. He holds the bottle of formula up to Layla’s mouth and she starts drinking from it easily, effectively silencing her cries. They both sigh in relief.
Harry looks over at Louis now, who’s head is tucked into the crook of his neck, and smiles fondly. “She’s so lovely,” he sighs, not looking away from the soft, crinkly-eyed smile that Louis is directing at Layla. He looks blissful, thin lips curving up at the corners and eyes radiating with love.
Louis nods slightly and starts to sing Isn't She Lovely softly. A huge, beatific smile breaks out on Harry's face when he recognizes the song. He thinks back to his X Factor audition, back to when he was only 16 and already so in love with the idea of having children. Back to the day he met the boy that would make it all happen.
He doesn't even notice that he's crying until Louis' voice interrupts his thoughts.
“Darling? What's wrong?” Louis asks in a sweet, concerned voice. He places a hand on Harry's thigh in comfort.
Harry looks down at their gorgeous daughter, who's now sleeping peacefully, lulled into slumber by the warm milk, and then to Louis, who's looking at him with worry. “Nothing's wrong,” he chuckles through his tears, “I'm just so in love with you. And I'm so happy to have a family with you.” Louis' face softens into a look of pure adoration.
The older man places his hands on each of Harry's cheeks, thumbing away the tears resting there. Their eyes lock, and Harry feels the utterly cliché feeling of getting lost in Louis' eyes. “I am so, so in love with you too, H. And you and Layla make me the happiest man on Earth,” Louis says, voice raw with emotion.
Harry turns his head to press a kiss to the palm of Louis' hand, and Louis' entire face scrunches up in an effort to contain a huge smile.
“Let's put her in her crib, shall we?”
---
They get a solid two hours of sleep before Layla wakes up again.
They expected this of course; Harry had purchased about 10 baby books when they'd first found out that their surrogate was pregnant. They'd both read every single one cover to cover, but nothing could have prepared them for the real thing.
“I'll get her,” Louis grumbles when the sound of Layla's cries filters through the baby monitor. He sits up from his position as the big spoon and scoots toward the edge of the bed to get up.
“No, no,” Harry mumbles, face smashed into the pillow, “Wanna do this together, as a team.” He sits up slowly, rubbing at his tired eyes.
Louis walks around to Harry's side of the bed and places a hand on his husband's shoulder. “We need to do this in shifts, Haz. We can't both be exhausted at the same time.”
Looking up at Louis with a pout, Harry stands up anyway. “It's our first night as a family, Lou. I want to do this together.” And well, how could Louis say no to that.
When they enter the nursery (which is decorated with a nautical theme, of course), they both rush to the crib that rests against the wall. Their Layla is lying there, squirming and screaming her little lungs out.
An unpleasant smell immediately assaults their noses. “Looks like someone needs a diaper change,” Louis says in his baby-talk voice, his nose scrunching up in disgust. He reaches down into the crib and carries the crying baby to the changing table.
As Harry watches Louis change Layla's diaper, he can't help but be thankful that Louis grew up with so many younger siblings. As much as Harry loves babies, he doesn't have quite the amount of experience taking care of them as Louis does.
“All done, little love,” Louis whispers happily to Layla when he's all finished. She gurgles nonsensically back at him. He picks her up and places her back in her crib before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
Harry does the same and says a quiet, “Your daddies love you so much, sweet pea.” It's not long until her little eyelids begin to droop.
They wait until they're sure she's asleep before they make their way out of her room. Harry wraps an arm around Louis' waist as they walk, pressing their bodies close together. “You're such an amazing dad, baby,” he praises.
Louis stops walking and turns to Harry. “So are you,” he replies, pecking his husband chastely on the lips.
“Should we even bother trying to go back to sleep?”
“Trust me, we're gonna need all the sleep we can get.”
---
Harry finds out soon enough that Louis is right about trying to get as much sleep as possible. The rest of the night and some of the wee hours of the morning consist of three more feedings, two more diaper changes, and one time where Layla wakes up just for fun.
It's bittersweet, really, because they both love taking care of their daughter, but they're also really fucking tired.
“We're never gonna get to have sex again, are we?” Louis asks when he flops down onto the bed at 3:32 am.
“Not for a while, no,” Harry groans, laying down next to him.
Louis whines sadly in response. He's really going to miss sex. “At least we can still cuddle. C'mere.”
Obligingly, Harry crawls closer to Louis and lays half on top of him, their chests pressed together. Louis' arms immediately wind around his body and Harry gives Louis' chest a series of tiny, sweet kisses. Louis kisses his husband's hair and wishes him sweet dreams before falling silent.
Louis is finally dozing when Harry’s rough voice breaks the silence.
“Lou?”
Eyes still closed, Louis gently strokes Harry’s back with the hand that was already resting there. “Yeah, babe?” he whispers.
“I miss her.”
Louis’ heart swells at the words; it’s such a Harry thing to do, miss someone when he just saw them and they’re still in the same building as he is. He understands, though. Layla is the center of both of their universes now, and it’s impossible not to want to be with her every moment. He giggles softly, overwhelmed with fondness. “I do too, sweetheart. We'll see her smiling face in the morning.”
Harry hums, melting back into Louis’ embrace. Louis can feel his husband’s heartbeat thumping softly in his chest, synching up with his own. Harry doesn’t speak again for a few quiet moments. “I bet she looks so cute sleeping right now.”
Louis is dead tired, and on any other night he’d be irritated by Harry’s rambling while he’s trying to sleep, but the day’s events have made him terribly sappy. His stomach is still housing butterflies, and his chest feels tight in the most pleasant way, as if it can’t possibly hold all the love he’s feeling. “Yeah. A little angel, she is,” he says back to Harry with a small smile on his face.
And sure, she may be an angel that just kept them up for hours, crying and needing to be fed and changed, but she’s still an angel nonetheless.
“I just want to hold her all the time. And kiss her little cheeks,” Harry sighs dreamily, “I love her so much, Lou.”
Louis knows the feeling. She’s only been with them for a few measly hours, and they have yet to learn her quirks or her habits, but she’s theirs. She’s their very own child, brought into this world as a result of their love, and just that thought makes Louis’ head spin. He’d fallen in love with her the second he laid eyes on her, and he’s never going to stop loving her.
“So do I. Our little girl is so perfect,” he replies. Harry makes a small noise of agreement.
There’s a brief silence between them then, and Louis can feel Harry’s breathing start to slow as he drifts off to sleep. He really doesn’t want to wake him, but there’s a thought that keeps running through his head that he desperately needs to let out.
“You and her are the best things to ever happen to me, y'know?”
Harry looks up at him, “The feeling is mutual. I love you so much.”
Louis holds Harry closer and presses a kiss to his curls. “I love our little family. More than anything. Thanks for doing this with me, Haz,” he says. He hopes that that's enough to convey everything he's thinking right now: thank you for loving me and thank you for staying with me despite everything and thank you for helping to make all of my dreams come true.
“Always,” Harry whispers in reply. He knows exactly what Louis meant.