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BREAKING NEWS: Harry Styles is retired!

Calling all aspiring models! It’s time to update your portfolios and take new headshots, because a very lucrative spot on the rosters of Burberry, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent has just opened up. It’s official. Harry Styles has just completed his final walk on the runway.

It should come as no surprise, as Styles, 29, has been very vocal about his plans to move away from the spotlight this year in order to start a family with his husband, music producer Louis Tomlinson, 31.

Fans of Styles thought they had more time before he stepped down from his pedestal, but alas, it was at the end of the YSL Autumn/Winter 2015 show last night that Styles closed the show, and also, his career.

After the final model returned backstage, Styles came out with a lone spotlight on him. He paused at the end of the runway, and, with his hands in prayer position, bowed one final time to the crowd. Not a single person remained sitting; everyone in attendance rose to his or her feet to applaud his astonishing eleven-year career. Styles, the usually intense and stoic model, shed a few tears as he soaked in the love and admiration and blew kisses to Tomlinson, sister Gemma and mother Anne Twist, all of whom sat in the front row.

Styles has been a steady presence in the fashion industry since booking his first print ad for Ralph Lauren at the young age of eighteen in 2004, and over the last decade, his status has consistently increased.

Now that Styles is retired, it is only expected that a pregnancy announcement will arrive in the coming months. Styles and Tomlinson were married just over five years ago, and had been dating for ten years before that, after meeting in ninth and eleventh grade, respectively.

As soon as the wedding rings went on, they found themselves at the center of pregnancy rumors: Are they or aren’t they?

The happy couple has always remained mum on the subject, until early last year, when Styles began mentioning discussions he and Tomlinson had been having over how many children to have.

Tomlinson, who is the oldest of seven, confirmed in a December 2014 interview that they hoped to have at least three. Since twins also run in his family, the chances of more than that are rather great.

No matter how many children Styles and Tomlinson eventually have, they are wished nothing but the best as they embark on the next – and likely most exciting – stage of their lives. They’ll be wonderful parents, and the first Styles-Tomlinson child is highly anticipated.

Eight Months Later – October 2015

The sound of the vibrations from Harry’s phone filled the bathroom as his timer went off. He quickly silenced it and placed it back down on the counter.

Harry took a deep breath and lifted the pregnancy test up to his eyes.

It was the fifth one he’d taken today, and despite the other four all saying the same thing, he simply couldn’t wrap his head around it.

However, it looked like he needed to. Just like the rest of them, this test had two vertical lines looking back at him.

Harry felt his eyes fill with tears as he understood what that meant.

He was having a baby.

They were having a baby.

He and Louis were going to be parents for the first time, and, to be honest, Harry was feeling a little numb at the realization.

He sat down on the edge of the tub with the test still in his hand and stared at it as if it would disappear if he took his eyes away from it for even for a second.

They were going to have a baby. There would be doctor’s appointments and ultrasounds with cold jelly applied to his growing stomach. He would feel nauseous and bloated and get stretchmarks that he would claim to hate, but secretly love because it meant that their baby was developing. Then there would be labor, with painful contractions and breathing techniques that were supposed to help Harry deal with them. And finally, there would be a little baby, a tiny human who would rely on Harry and Louis for everything, including gross diaper changes and feedings at the ass crack of dawn.

They were going to have every single part of that, and all because Harry peed on a stick and two vertical lines showed up three minutes later.

They were going to have a baby.

He wiped the tears from his face and let out a shaky breath. He was supposed to be calming down, but thinking about everything that was still to come made him emotional all over again.

Harry was going to blame his hormones for that.

Of course, just then, Harry heard the front door of their house open.

“Harry!” he heard Louis calling out. “Babe, are you here?”

He rose to his feet, clutching tightly onto the test. He walked out of the room, through their bedroom and down the stairs to find Louis in the living room, kicking off his dress shoes and loosening his tie.

“Hey, babe,” Louis started to say. “There you are. I missed-”

He stopped short, about to give Harry a hello kiss, when he saw the drying tear marks still on Harry’s face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

Harry looked down at the floor, already feeling the tears building up.

“Harry?” Louis took a step closer to his husband, ducking his head a little to try to make eye contact. “What’s the matter?”

Harry looked up quickly, causing Louis to halt his movements. Unable to speak, he gave Louis a teary smile and held up the pregnancy test.

Louis’ brow furrowed in confusion, and he took it from Harry. “What is…?”

He examined it closely and looked back to Harry, his chest beginning to rise and fall more rapidly.

“There’s more of them in the bathroom,” Harry said, his voice cracking on the last word.

“Is this- Is this positive?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m holding a positive test? Right now? In my hands? And there are more that say the same thing?”

“Yeah, babe. I took five today,” Harry replied tearily.

“You took five pregnancy tests and they’re all positive?”

“Yes! Louis, we’re...”

“We’re what?”

“Louis, we’re having a baby,” Harry said, a smile taking over his face and tears falling freely down his cheeks.

“We are?”

“Yeah!”

“Holy shit.” Louis rushed forward, pulling Harry into a warm embrace. He whispered into Harry’s ear, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

---

A few days later, Harry and Louis left their doctor’s office with pregnancy pamphlets to read, results of Harry’s urine test and a due date: June 21, 2016.

Dr. Rollins, Harry’s doctor, said that Harry was only about five weeks along, so they still had a long time to go. They still had to get through Thanksgiving, Christmas, both of their birthdays and a few other calendar holidays before their baby arrived.

Harry was getting impatient already.

“What do you think it’ll be?” Harry asked as Louis drove them home.

“Babe, it doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s healthy. You could give birth to an alien and I would still love it.”

“You would not.”

“Yes, I would,” Louis insisted.

“Louis… Come on. You want a boy, don’t you?”

Louis shrugged. “I mean, yeah, it would be fun to have a little guy to chase a ball around with. Although, given the genetics that run in my family, that might be a bit of a pipe dream. But it’s not like I can’t play sports with a little girl, you know.”

“So you wouldn’t be disappointed with a girl?”

“You have met me, right?” Louis grinned and took Harry’s hand in his own. He kissed the back of it before continuing, “Of course I wouldn’t be disappointed with a little girl. I just said I would love a damn extraterrestrial if it came bursting out of your stomach.”

“Well, not bursting. I don’t think I would heal well.”

Louis laughed. “God, we’re having a baby. A real baby. I can’t wait to tell everybody: Liam, Niall… my mom! My mom’s going to freak the fuck out. She’s been pestering me for a grandchild for more years than I can count.”

Harry bit his lower lip, not knowing how to tell Louis what he’d been thinking.

“Um, Lou?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“Do you think, we could- Like, not tell people?”

“What do you mean?” Louis asked.

“Well, it’s just… I read that it’s bad luck to tell people before you’re in the second trimester, which is at thirteen weeks, I think. So, could we just, not tell anyone yet? I don’t want to mess this up, Louis.”

“You could never mess this up, babe,” Louis assured. “I promise. You’re going to provide such a warm home for that baby until June, and when it’s here, you’ll be the best parent ever. You won’t mess it up.”

“I’m just nervous, is all.”

“And you’re allowed to be. So if it would make you feel better to wait to tell people, then that’s absolutely fine. It’s only another, what? Eight more weeks til we can tell everyone?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. Just eight more weeks. We can do that.”

“Agreed.”

They soon pulled into their driveway and saw that both Niall and Liam’s cars were already there.

“Remind me why I gave them a key to the house again?” Louis sighed.

Harry giggled. “I think you said something about ‘emergencies or life and death situations.’”

“That’s what I thought. Guess they didn’t understand that part.”

As Louis prepared to open his door and step out of the car, Harry gasped. “What do I do with these?”

Louis looked down at Harry’s lap and remembered all of the informational packets the doctor had sent them off with.

“Oh, shit. Can’t exactly keep it a secret if our best friends see those, now can we?”

Harry shook his head.

“Put them in the glove box,” Louis said. “I’ll come out and get them after they leave.”

“OK.” Harry did just that and the two of them got out of the car.

Louis grabbed onto Harry’s hand again as he unlocked the front door, ushering them inside.

“Hello?” Louis called out.

“Down here!” Liam yelled back.

The two of them followed Liam’s voice into the movie theater in the basement.

Niall and Liam sat reclining in the front seats, each with a beer and a bowl of popcorn. They were watching the new Avengers movie, even though both had seen it multiple times.

In their own homes.

Harry sat down next to Liam and asked, “What are you two doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” Niall answered as if it should’ve been obvious. He offered some of his popcorn to Louis, who sat in the seat next to his, and shrugged when Louis said he didn’t want any.

“Why?”

“Louis said he was taking you to the doctor’s,” Liam said. “We wanted to make sure you were OK.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, only a bit surprised at that. “Oh. Well, thank you, guys. But I’m fine; I promise.”

“What was wrong?”

“Oh, you know… Just, my back acting up again. I had to get it sorted out.”

“Oh. Is that it?” Niall wondered. If Harry didn’t know any better, he would’ve said that his friends looked disappointed at the news.

“Yeah. That was it. You guys didn’t have to come over for that.”

“We wanted to,” Liam told him. “We wanted to make sure it wasn’t something big. Louis doesn’t usually take a day off to take you to the doctor.”

“Well, it was just his back,” Louis cut in. “He didn’t feel comfortable driving himself, so he asked me. OK?”

“OK,” Liam and Niall echoed back grumpily.

“Cool. Just out of curiosity, what would you guys have done if it was something really serious?”

“Uh, cheer you up,” Niall answered. The ‘duh’ in his statement was implied.

“Oh, right. Silly me.”

November 2015

Harry flushed the toilet and stood up so he could stretch. Morning sickness was in full effect, and his back and knees were suffering the most from being hunched over the toilet at all hours of the day.

He brushed his teeth, probably for the fourth time already, and returned to the living room, where he had been resting before feeling the urge to run to the bathroom.

He was eight weeks along now, and so far, everything had been going really well. The doctor told them that their baby was growing and was right on track with where it should be.

It made Harry extremely happy to hear that, as he’d been worried about everything that could possibly go wrong. But he couldn’t help it. He and Louis have wanted a baby for so long, and they were finally going to have one. It wasn’t his fault if he was nervous.

He sat back on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. Picking up the pregnancy magazine he’d been reading before sprinting to the toilet, he resumed examining the chart he had been looking at.

It was about the size of his baby and gave week-by-week comparisons to different foods. Apparently, his baby was currently the size of a kidney bean.

Harry made a small circle with his thumb and index finger, unable to believe that his child was that tiny. He then put down the magazine and put his arms together as if he was cradling a baby, finding it crazy that it would grow to be that big.

He wondered how big the baby would be when it was born. He knew that both he and Louis had been in the eight-to-nine pound range. Maybe if they had a boy, it would be born in that range, too.

He got so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the front door open and close.

It wasn’t until Niall yelled out for him that he jumped. He hurriedly shoved the magazine in between the couch cushions and put his hands in his lap, smiling widely as Niall walked into the room from the foyer.

“Hey,” he greeted, only a bit manically.

“Hi…” Niall said slowly. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, I just turned off the TV. I was thinking about taking a nap.”

“It’s like, ten o’clock in the morning.”

“Like you have never taken a mid-morning nap.”

Niall considered Harry’s words before shrugging. “Yeah; makes sense.”

He sat down on the loveseat opposite of the couch and leaned back, crossing his legs at the ankles.

“Did you need something, Ni?”

“Yeah. Just wanted to remind you of the details for Friends-giving next week.”

Friends-giving was the annual celebration at Niall’s house that consisted of a bunch of people coming over on the Saturday before Thanksgiving for dinner before they all went off to see their families.

“Dinner starts at five,” Niall said. “Bring your appetites, because I went all out this year.”

Niall was a celebrity chef, so Harry loved tasting the new recipes he came up with. Mostly because it gave him inspiration of what to cook in his own kitchen for him and Louis.

“And what can we expect, Chef Niall?”

“Well, that’s a surprise. But there will be a lot to feast on.”

“Can’t wait,” Harry said. He shifted in his seat, and the crinkling of magazine pages was easily heard.

Niall tilted his head toward the sound of the noise. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Harry sat perfectly still, not even daring to breathe for fear of Niall hearing the sound of the magazine again.

“That crunching noise. Oh, that! What are you sitting on?”

Harry followed Niall’s gaze to see the corner of a magazine page peeking out from between the cushions. It must’ve moved when Harry got more comfortable where he sat.

“Oh, that?”

“Yeah. What is that?”

Do NOT say pregnancy magazine. Do NOT.

“Oh, that’s um… Louis’ porno magazine.”

Harry and Niall silently stared at each other, and Harry tried to wrap his head around the fact that he just said his husband looks at porn magazines in the living room, and that Harry was OK with it.

“Did you say a porn magazine?” Niall asked.

“No…”

Niall raised an eyebrow. “OK. Um… whatever works for you guys, I guess…”

“Yeah.”

Harry looked away from Niall, hoping his extreme embarrassment and discomfort wasn’t too obvious.

Niall cleared his throat. “Well, this has been enlightening. I’ll talk to you later.”

“OK. Thanks for stopping by!”

Harry sighed in relief when he heard the front door close.

“Louis’ porn magazine,” he whispered to himself. “Really?”

He shook his head at his intense ability to put his foot in his own mouth and pulled the magazine out from between the cushions. He smoothed out the wrinkled pages and hoped that this could be something that they could laugh about one day.

In the meantime, he thought as he threw the magazine down and stood up again, he would spend some more time in the bathroom.

---

Immediately upon entering Niall’s house for Friends-giving, Harry made a beeline for the bathroom down the hall.

When he emerged a few minutes later, he found Louis in the sitting room, talking with Liam about work.

Liam was a music producer, as well, and worked with Louis at the same company. They were discussing the new girl group they’d just signed. They went by the name Rhythmix, although neither Louis nor Liam liked the name and were hoping the girls would change it in the near future.

Harry tucked himself into Louis’ side, feeling his husband wrap an arm around his waist. Harry tuned out their conversation about the girls’ vocal strengths and looked around the room.

There were a few people that Harry didn’t recognize – and he made a mental note to introduce himself later on in the evening – but right away, he saw James Corden, Ed Sheeran, Cara Delevingne, Rita Ora, Jessie J, Olly Murs, Laura Whitmore and Nick Grimshaw. Liam’s girlfriend, Sophia, was walking out from the kitchen with his friend Andy. They each had a flute glass in hand and Sophia was laughing at something that Andy had just said.

“Harry! I didn’t see you come in.”

Harry smiled as James walked over to him, opening his arms for a hug.

“Hello, James,” Harry said, stepping away from Louis and into James’ embrace. “How have you been?”

“Well I’m all right. You know, filming still happening and whatnot. I have to have you and Louis on the show again. I’ll find another celebrity couple for you boys to go against in dodgeball.”

“Of course; sounds like fun. It can’t be for a while, though.”

“Why not?” James asked confusedly.

“Uh…” Harry stalled. He’d forgotten that no one was supposed to know about the pregnancy. Oops.

“Well…”

“James! How the hell are you?” Louis swooped in on the conversation, saving Harry from having to come up with a bullshit excuse for why he wouldn’t be able to play dodgeball in the near future.

Louis extended his hand and James shook it carefully. “Uh, I’m fine, Louis. Just like I was when you greeted me five minutes ago.”

“Well glad to hear you still are.”

Liam raised an eyebrow at Louis’ suddenly bizarre behavior and looked to Harry for an explanation. Harry just shrugged his shoulders and acted like he didn’t know why Louis was talking louder than he had been ten seconds ago.

“Do you have a drink, James?” Louis asked. “Why don’t you go get yourself a drink?”

“Did someone say ‘drink’?” Niall asked, appearing from nowhere. He was carrying a tray of champagne flutes and offered one to everybody.

Harry took one and smelled it. He instantly detected the alcohol in the drink and looked to Louis for help.

“Uh, what is this, Ni?”

“Apple cider mimosas,” Niall replied. “Apple cider and champagne with cinnamon sugar on the rim. You’ll love these; especially you, Harry. It’s excellent.”

He held up his glass in a toast. “Cheers.”

Louis, Harry, James and Liam all clinked their glasses to Niall’s and went to take a sip.

Harry stared at Louis as he brought the glass up to his lips, unsure of what to do. It wasn’t like he could refuse the drink, not if they were keeping the pregnancy a secret. But Harry didn’t want to risk anything and certainly didn’t want to have any champagne.

Louis monitored the other men, and as soon as they all had their heads tilted back, drinking their mimosa, he reached out and knocked Harry’s glass right out of his hand, sending it crashing to the floor.

“Oh, no!” Louis pretended to be shocked at what had just happened. “Harry, you’re so clumsy. You dropped your glass.”

“Yes,” Harry said seriously. “I am very clumsy. Niall, I’m so sorry about that.”

“It’s all right. Everyone, be careful! Watch your step! I’ll get the broom.”

Niall went into the kitchen and came back with a broom and dustpan. Louis helped him get up all of the glass, which luckily stayed in mostly large pieces when it broke.

“Wouldn’t be a party without Harry breaking something,” James joked.

“Yeah, what can you say?” Harry said. “That’s just how it goes, I guess.”

About a half hour later, everybody was called into the formal dining room to eat. At every seat was a bowl with a glass lid covering it, meant to keep its contents hot.

Louis and Harry sat down next to each other and unrolled their cloth napkins, placing them in their laps.

“Before we begin,” Niall spoke from his seat at the head of the table, “I just want to say a big ‘Thank you’ to all of you for showing up. We all get crazy busy, especially around this time of year, so I’m happy that we all made time for today.”

Everyone around the table nodded, also pleased that they could spend time together for the holiday.

“And now, the first course,” Niall said. He lifted up the lid on his bowl, revealing soup inside, and the rest of the group did the same.

As soon as he got a whiff of the soup, Harry covered his nose with one hand and reached down to grab Louis’ thigh with the other. He squeezed as hard as he could.

Louis winced and kicked his leg out of Harry’s grip.

When he looked over, he saw Harry’s expression. “What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t good,” Harry mumbled.

“What is it?”

Harry stared intensely at the soup that was sitting in front of him.

“I think it’s squash. It’s not agreeing.”

“With your stomach?”

Harry shook his head and suddenly lurched forward, as if he was going to be sick all over the table.

“Harry!” Louis hissed.

Harry looked at him with a wide expression.

“Hey, Niall! What’s in this soup?” Louis called toward the head of the table.

“It’s butternut squash and sweet potato,” Niall answered. “It’s amazing; I think you’ll all love it.”

Louis looked back to Harry, only to find his husband with watery eyes and his hand clapped even tighter around his mouth.

“Harry,” Louis whispered.

Instead of saying anything, Harry quickly stood up and hurried from the room.

“Is he OK?” Liam wondered.

“I’ll go check on him.”

Louis dropped his napkin next to his bowl and went after Harry, finding him in the bathroom. He pressed his ear up against the door and heard Harry retching in the toilet.

He waited patiently outside until Harry finished. After a few minutes, he heard Harry flush the toilet and wash his hands.

When the door opened, Harry looked pale, with a thin line of sweat at his hairline.

“Do you want to go home?” Louis asked gently.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah.”

“OK. Meet me by the door. I’ll go tell Niall we’re leaving.”

Without another word, Harry did as Louis said, walking carefully so as not to disturb his stomach again.

Louis returned to the dining room, where everyone was waiting anxiously.

“Hey, we’re gonna take off,” Louis said apologetically.

“Everything all right?” Ed asked, concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah, just Harry doesn’t feel so well right now. We thought he might be OK to get through dinner, but it doesn’t look like it. Sorry we have to leave so soon, but have a good dinner, everyone.”

He waved his good-byes and went out to the entryway. Harry was leaning against the staircase. He had his head tipped back and was taking in slow, even breaths through his nose.

“You ready?” Louis asked quietly.

Harry nodded and took Louis’ hand when it was offered to him.

They drove home in silence, as Harry still didn’t look too good.

When they arrived, they both changed into sweats and climbed into bed. Harry snuggled into Louis’ side and rested his head on Louis’ shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said.

“What are you sorry for? It’s not your fault. Now we know that the smell of butternut squash makes you queasy.”

Harry groaned. “Don’t even say it around me.”

Louis smiled. “Sorry.”

“We’ve never missed Friends-giving. It’s been seven years of it, and we’ve never missed a single one.”

“It’s OK. I’d much rather be here with you, cuddled in bed, thinking about our baby.”

That got a smile out of Harry. “Our baby.”

“Yeah. And if it makes you feel better, this time next year, we’ll have to get a babysitter to go to Friends-giving.”

“That does help a little.”

“Yup. One year from today we’ll have a little five-month-old to hold and feed and play peek-a-boo with, and this will all be worth it.”

They were silent for a minute, until Harry slowly said, “Thank you.”

“You’re the one who’s carrying our baby. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”

Louis turned and kissed Harry on the top of his head.

Harry looked up and beamed, his stomach finally starting to settle down.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I would totally kiss you if I didn’t just puke my guts up a half hour ago.”

“It’s OK,” Louis told him. “I’ll get one in the morning.”

December 2015

“Excuse me?” Harry asked, staring at his doctor in confusion. She can’t have just said what he thought she did.

“What did you just say?” Louis demanded.

Dr. Rollins just chuckled. “I said that you could be carrying more than one baby. Do either of you have multiples in your family?”

Harry just turned and punched Louis in the arm.

“Ow!” Louis yelled in pain. All of Harry’s boxing lessons had definitely paid off; although, right now, it wasn’t in Louis’ favor.

“I guess you do?” Dr. Rollins asked, looking at Louis.

“Yeah, my mom had two sets of twins,” Louis answered. “I didn’t think that would mean I would have twins. Don’t they skip a generation or something?”

“Sometimes. But usually, as long as twins – or more – run in the family, then-”

“You think there could be more in there?” Harry shrieked.

“I wouldn’t say that yet,” Dr. Rollins, trying to calm Harry down. “I do hear more than one heartbeat, though. And if twins run in the family, then I’m going to say that you will be having two babies in June.”

Harry let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Holy shit,” he whispered.

“So what does this mean?” Louis asked. “For us? For Harry? For the baby? Well, babies, I guess.”

“Definitely keep doing what you’re doing,” she replied. “You’ve been doing really well with keeping them happy and healthy. All of the tests we’ve done so far have come back positive.”

“I hear a ‘but’ coming,” Harry interjected.

“Well, yes and no. With multiple births, there is always the chance of delivering early. Some multiples are born full-term – around forty weeks – and others are born at thirty-seven weeks, with some even earlier than that. With babies, every day counts. Every single second your babies can spend inside of your womb, Harry, the better. Now that there is the chance for multiples, we’ll be keeping an even closer eye on your pregnancy than we were before. But, I do have some good news for you.”

“What’s that?” Louis asked.

“I’m going to set our next appointment for January 5, which sets you at sixteen weeks. At that time, I can try to see what you’re having.”

Harry gasped. “You can tell so soon?”

“If the babies cooperate, I can.”

“Oh, they’re Louis’ kids; they won’t cooperate.”

“Hey,” Louis whined. “You don’t know. They might listen.”

Dr. Rollins laughed. “It is possible to tell at sixteen weeks if they’re positioned right. If not, then I can try again at the following appointment.”

“I can’t believe this,” Harry said quietly. “This is all happening so fast.”

“I know, Harry,” Dr. Rollins agreed. “Pregnancies usually happen in the blink of an eye. Are you taking lots of pictures of your belly?”

Harry nodded shyly. “Yeah. I mean, we’re not showing them to anybody yet, but we have them.”

“That’s wonderful. Cherish every day, OK? Those babies will be here faster than you know it. Have you started thinking of names yet?”

Louis and Harry glanced at each other.

“Um, no?” Louis mumbled.

“Start,” Dr. Rollins suggested. “It might take you a while to agree on names, even longer now that there are two of them. Luckily, there are thousands of suggestions online if you don’t want to go the traditional route and name them after family members.”

Louis agreed. “Yeah, we should get on that. We will. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Talk to the receptionist up front and she’ll set you up for the next appointment.”

“Thank you,” Harry said.

They both shook her hand before exiting the office.

“I kind of forgot about names,” Harry admitted as they walked up to the front desk.

“Yeah. So did I. But don’t worry; we’ll figure it out. We still have some time.”

Harry nodded, although it was just one more thing he felt nervous about.

---

On the day of their annual family Christmas party, Harry pulled at his loose sweater again, hoping it still hid his stomach. He was a little more than fourteen weeks along now, and had finally started showing. The doctor said it was probably because of his strong abdominal muscles that it took so long for him to develop the little pooch in his lower stomach.

Whatever the reason, Harry now had a baby bump, and because they now wanted to wait until after the holidays to tell everyone, he wore a lilac sweater he’d had for so long it was stretched out in more ways than one. He also planned on spending the entire day with his shoulders hunched inward. That way, the sweater wouldn’t cling too much to his stomach and hopefully wouldn’t give away his secret. It undid more than eleven years of model training, but it would be worth it if nobody noticed.

At the moment, Harry was in his kitchen, checking on the food he was cooking. He opened the oven door and saw that his chicken was close to being done.

“H, where’s the wine?”

Harry turned to see Lottie and Fizzy walking in.

“Uh, my mom just opened that one,” he answered, pointing to a new bottle of red wine sitting on the counter.

“Where’s yours?” Fizzy wondered as she got two glasses from the cabinet.

“Yeah, usually you claim a whole bottle for yourself by the time we arrive,” Lottie laughed.

“I’m not that bad,” Harry protested.

“Yeah. Sure you’re not.”

Fizzy poured a glass for herself and then poured one for Lottie.

Once they were done, they left the room, leaving Harry alone again.

He placed a hand on each side of his stomach and whispered, “Hi, babies. I’m your papa. Can you hear me in there?”

He didn’t get a response, not that he expected one, but it was nice to have a bump. He felt more of a connection with the babies now that there was visual proof of their existence. He wasn’t making them up; they were really there.

“H!” Louis called from the living room. “Babe, come out here!”

Harry checked the food once more before going out to find his husband.

He found him in the living room, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. He, Anne, Gemma and Robin were playing Scrabble. Harry sat on the sofa behind Louis, who then leaned back to rest against Harry’s legs.

“Babe, can I make a word with these tiles?” Louis asked.

“That’s cheating,” Gemma accused. “You can’t ask Harry for help.”

“Oh, come on! We’re married. What do they say about married people? They share the same brain?”

Anne raised an eyebrow. “Not really.”

“Yeah, I’ve never heard that one before,” Robin said, shaking his head.

“Well I’ve heard it a million times before,” Louis lied. “Must be a young people thing.”

Gemma cleared her throat. “Um, excuse me? I’ve never heard it before and I’m young.”

“Meh.”

“Louis Tomlinson, do you want me to kick you?” Gemma asked. “I will get up right now and kick you.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Empty threat, sis. Has been since I was sixteen.”

“Well, maybe today’s the day I follow through on it.”

“OK, Gem. Keep telling yourself that.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Harry got up to answer it, mostly so he could get away from Louis and Gemma’s bickering.

He opened the door and found Jay, Dan, Daisy, Phoebe, Doris and Ernest.

“Hi!” he greeted, stepping back to let them in.

“Harry!” Doris and Ernest rushed forward to give their brother-in-law a hug.

The problem was, Harry knew how rough the ten-year-olds could be.

“Whoa!” Harry quickly stepped back, avoiding their arms. And then he saw the looks on his family’s faces.

Daisy and Phoebe looked confused, unsure of why Harry was avoiding a hug. Jay and Dan looked surprised, as well. But Doris and Ernest looked hurt, and that nearly broke Harry’s heart.

He tried to salvage the situation. Kneeling down to get on their levels, he spread his arms wide.

“Sorry, you two. My back hurts a little, so you have to give me a nice hug today. Maybe you can tackle me next time you see me?”

Crisis averted.

The ‘baby twins,’ as Harry had called them since birth, smiled widely and hurried into Harry’s arms, squeezing tightly around his shoulders instead of his stomach.

When they finished, Harry stood up and let the twins run inside.

Daisy and Phoebe entered the house, each of them giving Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before going in to find their older sisters and brother.

“Hey, Harry,” Dan said, shaking Harry’s hand. He shut the door behind Jay, who went to give Harry a hug, too.

Seeing as he couldn’t very well kneel to hug his mother-in-law, Harry wrapped his arms around Jay, but made sure to stand back far enough so that their stomachs didn’t come into contact.

“Your back’s really tense, huh?” Jay asked, noticing Harry’s strange stance.

“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s really, uh, stiff.”

He hunched his shoulders in a bit more for added effect.

“I see. You should get that checked out.”

“Good idea, Jay. I’ll get right on that.”

“Uh-huh.”

Harry heard a timer going off in the kitchen. “Speaking of things I should go check on…”

He used that as his reason to escape the conversation. He did a quick sweep of his food and saw that dinner was ready to be served. At least he could hide his belly a bit better when he was sitting down.

---

After dinner, it was time to open presents. Since they were the youngest in the family, Doris and Ernest got theirs first.

Louis sat down on the couch, and Harry got comfortable on his lap, careful to lean forward a little to hide his belly.

At first, everything was fine. However, when the twins started tearing at the wrapping paper on their presents, Harry felt himself being overcome with emotion.

He raised a hand to cover his mouth, and Louis instantly noticed.

He nudged Harry’s side and mouthed, ‘What’s wrong?’

Harry shook his head and stood up. He walked out of the room with his head ducked down, not looking up until he reached Louis’ office down the hall.

When he entered, he didn’t bother to shut the door, knowing Louis was right behind him.

“Harry, what’s the matter?” Louis asked worriedly as he walked inside. He shut the door behind him. “Are you going to be sick again?”

Harry shook his head. “No,” he answered tearfully.

“So what happened?”

And then Harry started to cry.

“We’re going to be opening baby presents next year,” Harry sobbed. He covered his face and let the tears fall freely.

Louis, however, was pressing his lips together to stifle his laughter.

Harry had been getting extra emotional lately, especially at anything having to do with children.

Whenever they went shopping, Harry always lingered when they passed by a baby aisle, and his eyes would start watering when Louis said it was time to leave.

In a way, Louis was glad that Christmas was almost over. Now the Toys ‘R’ Us commercials featuring kids finding presents under the tree would finally stop.

And maybe Harry’s tears would, too.

“Baby,” Louis cooed, trying to console Harry.

But that backfired, as Harry let out an even louder cry at Louis’ poorly chosen term of endearment.

“Haz,” Louis said, his smile getting wider. “Come here.”

He pulled Harry into his arms and held him tightly, letting Harry cry on his shoulder.

Louis started rubbing Harry’s back before saying, “Harry…”

“Do you know how annoying baby toys are, Louis? They’re going to be bright and loud and play stupid songs over and over again and I’m going to hate them! But I want those toys so bad, Louis!”

“I know, Harry. I really want those toys, too. And we will have them; I promise.”

Harry sniffled. “You promise?”

“I absolutely do. OK?”

Harry nodded, but stayed right where he was.

Louis held on to his husband tightly, feeling his body start to relax. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but Louis didn’t say anything until Harry’s tears stopped and his breathing got less shaky.

He finally asked, “Do you want to go back out there?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. Let me run to the bathroom first. I need to splash cold water on my face.”

“OK. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They shared a soft kiss before Louis left the room, going back to join his family.

“Is Harry OK?” Anne asked when he returned.

“Yeah, he’s fine. Um, we thought we didn’t put some of the presents under the tree, so we looked for them. But, uh, I see them right there. Must’ve missed them.”

“Oh, that son of mine. He’s very forgetful, isn’t he?”

Louis nodded. “Yup. But we love him, right?”

Anne just hummed in agreement, although she didn’t look like she bought the whole story.

Louis looked away from her, and he was pretty sure her suspicious gaze didn’t leave his face for a while.

January 2016

Is Harry Styles Expecting?

Only a model could make running errands seem so glamorous.

With his hair tied back in a smooth bun, former model Harry Styles was spotted out and about in Brentwood on Sunday. Styles has been noticeably absent from the public eye in recent months, ever since officially retiring from the modeling world in February.

However, it wasn’t what the model was doing that raised eyebrows, but rather, what he was wearing. Styles, 29, is well-known for his tight black skinny jeans and half-buttoned print shirts, as well as his chiseled abs, broad shoulders and long legs. But for this outing, Styles donned loose-fitting jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, a far cry from his usual high-style attire.

Maybe it was just his outfit, but Styles appears to have put on some weight, especially around his midsection. It could be pure coincidence, of course, that over the last few years, Styles has let everyone know that he had full intentions of starting a family with his husband, music producer Louis Tomlinson, 32, upon leaving the modeling world. Could this be the beginning of the official Styles-Tomlinson family tree?

It’s possible that Styles is just letting himself relax after eleven years of feeling the pressure to look perfect for his modeling gigs. He doesn’t have to put on the performance of walking a runway every time he steps outside of his house, and certainly doesn’t need to follow a strict diet and exercise plan fit for a model if he no longer wants to.

However, based on Styles’ hard-working attitude and determination to be a father, it would be no surprise if he had a bun in the oven now that his modeling contracts have been fulfilled.

With that said, it’s being speculated here first: Harry Styles is pregnant!

---

Today was the day. Harry and Louis could finally admit to their families that they were having a baby.

It came at the perfect time, too, seeing as there had been several articles over the past week about Harry’s growing stomach in every tabloid and online blog that cared enough to fuel the rumors.

Harry just hoped everyone ignored what was being said about them, as they have for the last decade.

The plan was to have everyone over for lunch, and then announce the news after they ate.

But that was foiled when everybody walked in and Harry was throwing up in the kitchen sink.

“I’m not eating anything he made,” Lottie said, wrinkling her nose.

“Lottie,” Louis scolded. He walked over to Harry to gently rub his back and make sure he was all right.

“What? I can’t get sick right now. I’m going on tour with Selena again, and you know how long it takes me to get over being sick.”

“Lottie, shut up,” Jay said, a bit louder than Louis had been. “Harry, are you feeling OK, sweetie?”

Harry just nodded.

“Could everybody go to the living room, please?” Louis requested. “We’ll be there in a second.”

Jay and Anne nodded and ushered all of the kids out of the kitchen. The door swung shut behind them and Louis kissed Harry on the side of his head.

“Do you still want to do this today?” Louis asked gently.

“Yeah. Definitely.”

“Are you sure? I can bring you some food in bed if you want to go lay down.”

“No, I swear I’m fine,” Harry insisted. “I am. Really.”

“OK; if you’re sure. Come on.”

Louis held out his hand and Harry took it, letting Louis guide him out to the living room.

“Sorry about that, guys,” Harry said once they were in the room.

“It’s fine, H,” Liam said. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

“Yes. Um, Louis and I actually have some news.”

Louis looked around, taking in the expressions of everyone there: his mom and sisters, Dan, Niall, Liam, Sophia, Gemma, Anne and Robin. Doris and Ernest were sick, and had stayed at home with Sally, Dan’s sister.

Unable to hold it back anymore, Harry excitedly blurted out, “We’re having a baby!”

Louis wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist and rested his hand against Harry’s stomach.

The room was silent, and the two of them waited for their friends and family to say something.

“Yeah, boys, we sort of know that already,” Anne said gently.

“What?” Harry yelled.

“How?” Louis wanted to know.

“Harry, you don’t wear sweatpants,” Liam answered. “And the last few times I’ve been over here, you’ve only been in sweatpants. I won’t even mention your ridiculously big hoodies; you know, like the one you’re wearing right now.”

“Plus, the other day, I saw you from the side, and you had a gut for the first time in the eight years that I’ve known you,” Niall added.

“Harry, I’m your mother,” Anne told him. “I always notice when something is off about you and when I saw you at Christmas, I knew something was going on. I just didn’t want to say anything yet.”

“The sudden press hasn’t helped, either,” Robin said.

“And I’m a nurse,” Jay reminded Louis. “I’ve seen pregnant people at all stages. I knew the signs immediately.”

“Oh,” Harry said, just a bit disappointed. “Well, then…”

“We didn’t know,” Lottie jumped in, pointing between her sisters. “If it helps. I mean, you’ve taught us to ignore everything we hear about you in the media, so…”

“Yeah, I just thought you put on weight now that you can finally relax,” Gemma said.

“Really?”

The girls all nodded.

“Well, we still have a surprise for you,” Louis continued smugly. “We’re not having one baby.”

Everyone stilled, waiting for Louis to finish his train of thought.

“We’re having two.”

Shrieks and yells filled the room as everybody rose to his or her feet to congratulate the happy couple.

“This is so exciting!”

“Can’t believe it’s twins!”

“We’re so happy for you!”

Harry and Louis basked in the praise and encouragement of the ones they loved most. It was a while before everyone calmed down again.

“So how far along are you?” Liam asked.

“Eighteen weeks,” Harry answered.

“You’re eighteen weeks with twins and you look like that?” Jay squawked.

“Mom,” Louis hissed.

“Sorry… Just, I didn’t look like that at eighteen weeks. Either time. I never would’ve been able to hide my bump with a hoodie, and I definitely was more swollen and pale.”

“Do you know what you’re having yet?” Lottie asked.

“Not yet,” Harry said sadly. “The doctor tried to check at our last appointment, but she couldn’t tell. So we’re trying at the next one.”

“But we’ll obviously let you all know what they are as soon as we find out,” Louis assured them. “We know you’re almost as excited as we are.”

“I think it’ll be two girls,” Fizzy guessed. “Girls run in the family, so why not?”

“Nah, there could be a twist here,” Gemma said. “Maybe it’ll be two boys, because none of us would be expecting that.”

“I would be happy with anything,” Jay told them. “Although, you could just have a boy and a girl and everybody would be pleased.”

“Well Louis already said he would be happy with an alien, so I’m definitely okay with anything,” Harry laughed.

Louis just nodded his head. “Listen, we’ve wanted a baby for so long, and now we’re going to have two. I’ve got no complaints about anything else. And now that you all know and we have your support? There’s nothing else in the world I could ask for.”

February 2016

On the second Saturday of the month, everyone was invited back to Louis and Harry’s house. It should’ve been a birthday party for Harry, but considering Harry didn’t want to be reminded of the fact that he was now thirty, it was, instead, a gender reveal party.

It was bright and sunny outside, so Louis and Harry decided to barbecue.

There were green and yellow balloons – as they were ‘gender neutral’ – everywhere, tied to every chair and door handle they had in the large backyard.

Louis and Liam were grilling burgers, hot dogs and vegetables for everyone and Harry was sitting in their most comfortable patio chair, while their friends and family members came up to him to rub his bump.

Harry was more than twenty-one weeks along now, and had really popped since the day they had announced the pregnancy.

“Now that is twenty-one weeks pregnant with twins,” Jay joked as she laid a hand across his round belly.

“Wait, hang on,” Harry said. He grabbed Jay’s hand and moved it down and over toward his side. “OK. Talk.”

Jay looked at Harry with a smile and then knelt down next to him. “Hi, babies. I can’t wait to meet you and find out what you are. You know, your daddies are so excited to meet you and can’t wait to hold you in their arms and-”

She abruptly stopped talking as she felt little kicks against her palm.

“Oh, Harry!” she gasped.

“Isn’t it amazing? Louis’ so excited. He finally felt them for the first time last night, but they’ve both been kicking for about a week now.”

“I’m so happy for you, sweetie.” She placed a soft kiss on his belly before kissing him on top of the head. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Harry said, opening his arms for a hug.

She gave him a tight one, and only stopped when Gemma walked up.

“OK, you’re hogging my brother now,” Gemma smiled. “Let me get a turn.”

“Of course,” Jay said. She kissed him on top of his head again before walking away, finding Dan in deep conversation about golf with Robin and Niall.

Gemma wasted no time in kneeling down and talking to Harry’s stomach. She placed a hand on it and said, “Hey, babies. I know you’re in there and that you can hear me. If one of you is a girl, convince your dads to name you Gemma.”

“No, no, no,” Lottie cut in, finding her way over. She knelt down on Harry’s other side and placed a hand on his bump, too. “Babies, if one of you is a girl, tell your dads that traditional is the way to go. Charlotte is the winning name.”

“You know, they could both be girls,” Harry reminded them.

Gemma and Lottie looked at each other for a second, and Gemma told the babies, “You can be named Gemma Charlotte and Charlotte Gemma, and those are the only options.”

Harry and Lottie laughed, and seconds later, Gemma and Charlotte both squealed.

“They kicked us both!” Lottie said happily.

“They either kicked because they’re girls and liked the names, or because they’re both boys,” Harry joked.

“Which one is it?” Gemma wanted to know.

“You’ll find out soon. Everyone’s just about done eating, so we’ll probably do the reveal in a little while.”

“Any hints for what to expect?”

“Hmm…” Harry pondered the question. “A lot of screaming.”

Lottie rolled her eyes. “Well that wasn’t helpful at all.”

“Sorry. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

About a half hour later, Louis called for everyone’s attention. “We just want to thank you all for being here today. If you’ll come inside to the living room, we can tell you what you’ve been dying to hear.”

Harry stood from his seat and walked toward the house with a slight waddle in his step. He found a seat on the couch and waited for everyone to file in.

Phoebe and Daisy plopped down in the loveseat across from him, and Doris and Ernest sat on their laps. Liam, Sophia and Niall sat in front of the fireplace and Lottie and Fizzy leaned back against the wall next to it. Gemma sat on the arm of the couch and the four grandparents-to-be hovered in the archway connecting the living room to the foyer.

“Mom and Jay!” Harry called out to the two future grandmothers, “You need to sit next to me.”

Jay and Anne looked at each other in confusion, but did as they were told, with Anne sitting on Harry’s left side and Jay on the right.

Louis walked in then, carrying two clothing boxes wrapped in white paper. One of them had a giant red A written on it, and the other had a B. He nodded at Harry, who then began speaking.

“OK, so I know that it was my birthday last week, but, Mom and Jay, you two are the ones who are getting presents,” Harry said.

Louis gave Jay the box that said A and handed the B box to Anne.

“In each box is a onesie that will not only tell you the gender of each baby, but also has a special message for you both,” Louis added. He sat down on the other arm of the couch and said, “OK. Go ahead.”

Jay started unwrapping her box first. She pulled the lid off and peeked inside, gasping loudly when she saw the color of the onesie.

“Mom, what is it?” Fizzy wanted to know.

Jay dropped the lid box and held up the pale pink onesie for everyone to see.

“It’s a girl!” Gemma yelled.

Harry nodded happily and Louis just beamed.

“Baby A is a girl,” Louis confirmed.

Similarly to when they announced they were having twins, the room quickly filled with cheers and shouts of excitement.

“Jay, read what it says,” Harry encouraged.

Everyone hushed so Jay could read the front of the onesie.

“Only the best moms get promoted to grandma,” she read loudly.

“Mine better say the same thing,” Anne said, pointing a threatening finger in Harry’s direction.

“It does, Mom. Now open it to find out if it’s a boy or another girl.”

Anne nodded and started to unwrap her box. She jumped up as soon as she got the lid off, and waved the light blue onesie in the air. “It’s a boy!”

More cheers filled the room, and their respective mothers quickly pulled Louis and Harry into tight hugs.

“You get one of each!” Jay squealed into Louis’ ear. “I’m so happy for you, firstborn.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“My baby’s having babies,” Anne whispered to Harry.

“Not really a baby anymore, Mom.”

“I know. You’re thirty now.”

Harry immediately shushed her. “Mom! Please!”

Anne just rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You models are so sensitive about your age.”

“Habit. Sorry.”

“What are you going to name them?” Liam yelled out, bringing the noise in the room down to a dull roar.

Harry and Louis pulled themselves out of their mothers’ embraces and shared a glance.

“Uhh… Not sure yet,” Harry answered. “We’ve been throwing some things around, but nothing’s really stuck.”

“Well, you have plenty of options for the girl,” Phoebe said, pointing around the room. “Look at the choices you have right in front of you.”

Louis chuckled. “Yes, we could name her after any one of you.”

“What if you named the boy EJ?” Daisy gasped. She looked down at Ernest, who sat in her lap and said, “Would you like that, Ern? A baby being named after you?”

Ernest, however, scrunched his face up and shook his head. “I’m not sharing my name.”

“I’m just saying,” Niall cut in, “that Niall is a wonderful name. Of course, Dan and Robin are great, too, and, I guess Liam’s all right.”

Liam shoved Niall over as everyone laughed.

“Look, we will figure the names out soon,” Louis said. “Right now, we’re just thinking about having a new baby girl and boy to spoil.”

Jay smiled. “Yes. Lots of spoiling to be done.”

She leaned forward and told Anne, “We can start shopping for the baby shower now.”

“Oh, right,” Louis said. “The shower.”

“Well of course, the shower. Did you forget you were having one?”

Harry and Louis glanced at each other before immediately lying to their moms.

“No.”

“Of course not.”

March 2016

When Louis arrived home, he found Harry sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Again. Like every other time, he was surrounded by food to munch on, and once again, the combination he had made Louis feel a bit nauseous.

“Hey, babe,” Louis greeted.

“Hi,” Harry said, his mouth full of food.

“What’s on the menu for tonight?”

Harry shot him a grumpy glance before pointing down at his plate.

Louis looked to see pickles wrapped in cheese slices, leftover lasagna from two nights ago and honey mustard to dip everything in.

“Oh, no,” Harry gasped. “Can you hand me the salt?”

“Yeah.”

Louis walked over to one of the cabinets near the stove and pulled out the salt dispenser.

He gave it to Harry, who proceeded to pour salt directly on top of the honey mustard. He swirled it around with his pinkie finger to mix it up before licking the extra off.

Louis watched the entire scene with his nose wrinkled up, willing himself not to puke at what Harry was eating.

“There’s more lasagna in the fridge if you want it,” Harry told him before taking another bite of his own food.

“With honey mustard and pickles? Or without?”

“You don’t have to get that if you don’t want to. But you should try it. You’re really missing out.”

“No thanks; I’ll pass.”

---

Harry started laughing as he opened the next present. Inside of the box were two identical white onesies. The only difference was what they said on the front.

“Copy and Paste,” he read out. Once everyone stopped laughing, he said, “Clever. Thanks, Fiz.”

Fizzy gave him a thumbs-up. “You’re welcome, bro.”

It was the day of Harry’s baby shower. About a million balloons filled the house and everywhere he looked, there were boxes covered in pink and blue wrapping paper.

“OK, we’re next!” Phoebe announced. “We’ll be right back.”

She and Daisy got up from their seats in Jay’s living room and ran upstairs.

“What did they get?” Louis wanted to know.

Harry just shrugged. “Like I know.”

“They worked really hard on it,” Lottie told them.

Jay nodded. “You’re going to love it.”

“Close your eyes!” Daisy shouted down the stairs.

Louis took Harry’s hand in his own and gave him a quick wink before shutting his eyes.

Harry closed his eyes, too, and waited anxiously for his sisters-in-law to return. He heard them coming down the stairs and shuffling around other people to stand in front of them.

“OK,” Phoebe said. “Open your eyes.”

Harry and Louis did as they were told, and Harry gasped with excitement.

Daisy and Phoebe each held a cardboard tray that held something that looked like a three-tiered cake with white frosting and ribbon tied around each layer. The ribbon on Phoebe’s cake was pink, and Daisy’s was blue. In addition, on both cakes, there was an anchor at the front of the top layer, and a steering wheel from a ship on the bottom.

“What the hell are those?” Louis asked in confusion.

“Louis,” Jay hissed, tilting her head toward Doris and Ernest, who were too busy looking through the pile of already-opened presents to pay them any mind.

Louis apologized anyway.

“Louis, they’re diaper cakes!” Harry said excitedly. “These are so cool!”

He jumped up to look more closely at them, and smiled widely as he saw how many diapers were packed into each layer.

“We figured you guys can’t have too many diapers,” Phoebe explained. “So, why not give you a whole bunch of them?”

Louis rose to his feet and stared at the gifts, and upon further inspection, saw that each layer of the ‘cake’ was made up of rolled up diapers.

He loved them. “That’s awesome. We didn’t have these when you two were about to be born.”

“Yeah, well… Times have changed, Lou,” Daisy smiled.

“I see that.”

“Thank you so much, girls,” Harry said, giving each of them a big hug after they placed the cakes down on the coffee table. “That was so sweet.”

“My turn!” Gemma called out, throwing her hand up in the air. “OK, so I got you really boring stuff, like bottles and a baby bullet for when the kids get older, but I want you to open this one first.”

She handed them a large box that felt rather heavy when Harry took it from her.

“What’s in this? Bricks?” Harry asked.

“Just open it, H.”

He started tearing at the wrapping paper, and once it was off, he removed the lid.

He looked inside of the box and immediately frowned.

“What do you think?” Gemma wanted to know.

“This is wildly inappropriate,” he replied.

Louis, however, threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.

“Well now I need to know what it is,” Anne said.

Harry sighed and pulled out two tall coffee mugs. One was blue and the other was green, but they both said ‘DILF’ in black, bold print.

“I know; I’m a genius.” Gemma held her hands up as everyone else laughed at the mugs.

“I can’t believe you bought us these,” Harry told her.

“You’re about to have two babies. You’ll need a lot of coffee and tea. Come on, H. You know it’s funny.”

“Nope,” Harry said, shaking his head. He pressed his lips together, trying to hold back the giggles that were now trying to come out.

“Really? Not even a little?”

Harry broke, and a big smile spread across his face. “Okay, yeah; maybe a little.”

“I knew it!”

Harry shook his head again and looked at the mugs one more time before putting them back in the box.

After opening the rest of his presents, which included a whole lot of diapers and clothing ranging in size from three months all the way up to two years, it was time for cake.

Harry may have been looking forward to it all day.

Niall baked it for them, and it was red velvet with cream cheese frosting that had been dyed pink and blue.

As they sat around the living room, Lottie asked Harry and Louis if they planned on having more children after the twins.

The two of them shared a glance before Harry replied, “Uh, let’s get through this pregnancy first.”

“Has it been rough on you?” Jay wanted to know.

“I think it’s been pretty typical, honestly. My feet are swollen, my chest hurts, I can’t find a good, comfortable position to sleep in and if I thought my back hurt before, well, it was nothing compared to how it feels now.”

“Yeah, well… Don’t be surprised if you forget about all of that once it’s over.”

“Really?” Harry asked in disbelief. “I feel like I’ll never forget about all of this.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jay said. “All of the discomfort and morning sickness and fatigue just blur into the background when you look back on your pregnancy. All that you really remember are the good things: first sonogram, first kicks, first crazy craving, all of that. And then you have the baby, and you don’t even really remember labor, even though it’ll quite possibly be the most traumatizing thing you ever go through.”

Anne nodded. “Agreed; one hundred percent. And you know, even if you do remember all of the bad stuff, you’ll find that, if you really want another one, all of that will be worth it because you get a new little baby to love. The good absolutely outweighs the bad.”

Harry smiled as he listened to his mother and Jay’s words.

He understood what his mom meant when she said that he’d be able to overlook all of the negative aspects of pregnancy. He and Louis had always agreed on having at least three kids, and while this pregnancy had been rough, it hadn’t been impossible.

Louis smiled, too, and grabbed onto Harry’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

“If Harry’s willing to do it all again, I’d love to have more,” he said honestly. “I mean, take a look around. I have six younger siblings right here in this room, and, even though you’re all crazy-”

He was cut off by a lot of protesting.

“Excuse me?” Fizzy asked.

Lottie rolled her eyes. “Like you have any room to talk.”

“Louis, you’re so…” Phoebe started to say.

“Rude? Annoying? Crazier than we are?” Daisy finished for her.

“Louis, leave your siblings alone,” Jay scolded.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you,” Louis concluded. “Really. I love you guys. And if A- I mean, the babies want siblings, then-”

“Wait!” Gemma picked up on his mistake immediately. “Did you say ‘A’? Does that mean that one of the babies has a name? And it starts with A?”

“No!” Harry and Louis shook their heads.

“I don’t believe you for a second!” Fizzy straightened in her seat. “You picked names and you didn’t tell us?”

“What are they?” Phoebe wanted to know.

“We’re not telling!” Louis yelled over the noise of the room. “We have an idea of one of the names, but not the other, and we’re not saying anything until we have both.”

“Maybe,” Harry said. “We might keep them a secret until they’re born.”

Anne gasped. “You wouldn’t torture us like that.”

“I would. Hey, I’m pregnant with twins. My hormones are all out of whack; I’m not thinking clearly.”

“You’re not really using that excuse, are you?” Daisy asked.

“No, it’s pretty legit,” Jay said in Harry’s defense. “Twins really mess with your head.”

Daisy and Phoebe looked at each other, each of them wearing a frown.

“She means that with love,” Louis whispered to them.

“Shut up, Louis,” they shot back at him in unison.

---

That night, after all of the guests went home, Harry lay in bed with his legs stretched out in front of him.

He had one hand on each side of his belly, and was talking quietly to the babies.

“And as soon as you’re old enough, your dad’s going to teach you how to play soccer,” he said. “You might hate it, but you should try it; just for him. It’s a big deal.”

Louis leaned in the doorway that connected their bathroom and bedroom, and just smiled at what he saw.

“And who knows? You might really like it,” Harry continued. “You two kick a lot already; you could be the next superstars on the soccer field. Maybe you’ll even go to the Olympics one day.”

“Or, they could be the next top models,” Louis said, walking out of the bathroom.

Harry looked up at his husband and smiled at his words.

Louis climbed into bed and put both hands on the front of Harry’s stomach.

“Think about it, babies. You could try on his clothes and give your own fashion shows in the living room. And when you grow up, you could make it big with Burberry and Gucci. And check out Adidas while you’re at it.”

Harry giggled. “Please, no more Adidas. There’s already enough of it in this house.”

“No such thing.” Louis winked, and continued. “You know, since we’re talking about him, I just wanted to let you know that your pop has the ability to make anyone fall in love with him.”

Harry laughed. “Stop. I do not.”

“Don’t listen to him, babies. He does. He can walk into any room, or onto any runway, and instantly, everybody wants to be him. He makes people laugh with his silly jokes and they always ask him where he got his clothes. He’s charming and kind, and will make you feel at home just by being there. But most of all, your papa’s extremely lovable, and you’re so lucky to be all snug and warm inside his belly.”

Louis looked up to find Harry blushing, which only made him go on. “He gives the best hugs, and will always listen to you when you’re having trouble. He’s very smart, and can teach you so much about the world: how to live in it and handle yourself in it. You’re going to be better people because of him and his big heart. Your papa loves you very much.”

“So does your daddy,” Harry said. “Your daddy is one of the strongest people I know. He doesn’t take crap from anyone, and neither will you. He’s hard working and determined to provide the best life he can for you. He will always be there for you and will teach you how to stand up for yourself. He does like to play jokes on people, though, so you might want to watch out if you ever act up. He’s had a lot of practice raising children because of your aunts and uncle, and he’s ready for you to be here. We both are.”

As Harry finished speaking, both of them felt kicks against their palms.

Louis leaned in and peppered kisses all over Harry’s stomach, especially in the spots that the twins were kicking.

“Stop, you’re getting them all riled up before I have to go to bed!” There was no seriousness in Harry’s tone, though. He was way too happy for that.

April 2016

“Hey guys,” Harry said from the hallway outside of the nursery, “did you know that right now, if I was only having one baby, it would be the size of a butternut squash? Isn’t that ironic? You know, since the smell of that makes me sick?”

“Yeah, real interesting, Harry,” Niall replied as he painted the wall in front of him.

Harry was just over twenty-nine weeks now, and they were finally getting around to decorating the nursery. Well, Louis, Niall and Liam were. Harry’s back had been giving him problems lately, so everyone thought it would be best if Harry sat down and waited for it to be done as opposed to actually helping.

Plus, he didn’t want to be inside of the room while it was being painted; the smell wasn’t too appealing. So for right now, he was just watching from the hallway, and answering questions when asked.

“I think it’s interesting, Harry,” Louis called out as he put more paint on his roller.

“Thanks, Lou.”

“You would find that interesting,” Niall muttered under his breath.

“Watch it, Horan,” Louis threatened, “before I cover you in paint.”

“Go ahead. I might actually look less pale for once.”

For the time being, the babies were going to share a nursery. They were painting the walls a nice cream color and were going to make the room seem separated with pink accessories around the girl’s crib and blue accessories around the boy’s.

“That’s embarrassing,” Liam said about Niall’s paleness. He was up on a stepladder, getting the edges of the walls near the ceiling.

“How much longer is this going to take?” Harry asked. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re not even painting!” Niall said.

“I know, but watching you guys work is making me build up an appetite.”

Louis chuckled. “Almost done, babe. Shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“And we can move all of the furniture in tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

Louis and Liam had already assembled the cribs the night before, after putting the first coat of paint on the walls. Now they were finishing up the second coat, and could start arranging everything once it dried.

“Did Louis show you guys what we have for the babies?” Harry wondered.

“I saw some of it,” Liam answered. “I like the pink ‘A’ and blue ‘O’ the most, I think.”

“Yeah, what do they stand for?” Niall asked.

“You have to wait and find out about that one,” Louis told them.

“Oh, come on! We’re going to be the kids’ godfathers,” Niall whined. “Surely you can tell us their names a few months early?”

As recently decided by Louis and Harry, the twins would have four godparents: Liam, Niall, Gemma and Lottie.

They’d been unable to decide on a specific godfather or godmother for each baby, so they’d just asked all four of them to be ‘group godparents.’ Plus, deciding between Liam and Niall as godfather or Gemma and Lottie as godmother had been pure torture, as neither one could choose which person would go better with which baby.

Four godparents seemed like the best compromise.

Harry shook his head. “Nope. You have to wait.”

“Is it too late to refuse ‘godfatherdom’?” Niall asked.

“First of all, that’s not a word,” Louis shot back. “And second of all, yes.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “Fine. But don’t think I’ll forget this, because I won’t.”

“Niall,” Harry started, “you only have to wait another two months until they’re born. Then you’ll know.”

“I bet Gemma and Lottie know.”

“They don’t, actually,” Louis revealed. “And they’re just as annoyed as you are.”

“Oh. OK, then.”

Harry laughed. “I’m glad we can share these moments, Ni. Now paint faster so I can eat.”

Niall glared at Harry, but kept painting. He wasn’t going to be the one to make the pregnant person angry.

May 2016

It was a Thursday at the end of May when Harry just knew he was about to be a father.

He was out of bed before the sun was up, feeling a dull throbbing at the base of his spine. He took a hot shower, leaning against the tile wall whenever he felt the pain intensify. When he finished, he put on his comfiest yoga pants, T-shirt and socks and pulled his hair back into a bun. He dug around his bedside table for his favorite black watch and waited.

When he felt the throbbing again, he noted the time and went downstairs and made himself a cup of tea. He sat down on the couch so he could drink it and checked his watch the next time he felt the pain – which had gotten more intense – again.

Twenty-seven minutes.

He put his feet up on the coffee table and watched the news, thinking about how normal this felt, and realizing that in twenty-four hours, his entire life would be completely different.

Another hour went by, and the pains were getting even closer. When they were every twenty-two minutes, he went into his and Louis’ bedroom.

“Babe,” Harry whispered. “Lou, wake up.”

Louis turned his head and peeked one eye open. “What’s the matter? You OK?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Go take a shower and get dressed. I want to go out for breakfast today.”

“That sounds good. Kiss?”

Louis leaned his head up, and Harry was only too happy to give him a good-morning kiss.

“You taste like tea,” Louis noticed as he sat up.

“Yeah, I had a cup just now. I was watching the news. That reminds me, I have to brush my teeth.”

Harry went into the bathroom and finished getting ready for the day.

When Louis jumped in the shower, Harry put on a pair of black moccasins. He grabbed his hospital bag from the bottom of their closet and took it downstairs. He checked to make sure he had everything, but he knew his mom would bring even more stuff when she came to visit.

Harry sat back down on the couch and checked the time when he felt the pain again. He was down to every eighteen minutes. He called the hospital and Dr. Rollins and let them know that they would soon be arriving. He also texted Liam to let him know that Louis wouldn’t be in to work today.

Louis soon came down the steps and sat down next to Harry. “So where do you want to go?”

“The hospital,” Harry answered easily without taking his eyes away from the television. “I’m in labor.”

Louis stared at Harry, waiting for the punch line. When it didn’t come, he jumped to his feet. “Holy shit! We have to go!”

“Louis, calm down. Yelling isn’t good for the babies.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out about this? I just- I don’t even have shoes on, Haz!”

He turned and ran up the stairs to find a pair of sneakers. Harry watched him go, and figured he might as well turn off the television. He clicked the Power button at the top of the remote and pushed himself up into a standing position.

“Harry, where’s the hospital bag?” Louis shouted from their bedroom.

“I have it!”

Louis came rushing back down the stairs just as Harry held the bag out to him.

“Thanks,” Louis said quickly as he took it in his hand. “Do we need anything? Snacks? Do they feed you at the hospital?”

“I don’t think I’ll have much time to eat right now.”

“You’re right. That’s a good point. I should bring crackers.”

Louis dropped the bag at Harry’s feet and sprinted for the kitchen.

Harry rolled his eyes and put his hands on his back, laying his palms flat against the base of his spine.

He took a deep breath and listened to Louis running around the kitchen like a bat out of hell, likely making a mess that he wouldn’t want to clean up.

“OK! I’m ready!” Louis came back out of the kitchen, a full box of Townhouse crackers in his hand. He shoved it into Harry’s hospital bag and zipped it back up. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Harry put his hand on the front door and pulled it open, walking down the front steps to the car.

He heard Louis fumbling with the keys behind him to lock the front door, and as he reached the car, a high-pitched beep let him know that Louis had pressed the button to unlock it.

He slid into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. He took a deep breath as he felt another contraction coming on. They were starting to get stronger, and Harry couldn’t wait to get some pain medicine.

“OK,” Louis said frantically. He turned the car on and buckled up his seat belt. He quickly backed out into the street, but before he could drive off, Harry stopped him.

“Louis?” Harry spoke softly.

“Yeah?”

“I’m really excited.”

Louis turned to look at his husband, caught off-guard by how calm Harry was. His own rapid breathing immediately slowed down to a more acceptable pace, and a smile spread across his face.

“Me, too, babe.”

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and gave it a squeeze before hitting the gas pedal.

They had babies to deliver.

---

A few hours later, Harry woke up in a hospital bed. He was groggy and everyone else in the room was moving and speaking really slowly.

“You should’ve seen him, Anne,” Louis was saying. “He was so calm. He told me he was in labor like it was no big deal.”

“I believe it. Harry was born to be a parent. He’s waited his whole life for this.”

“They should be bringing the babies back soon, right?” another voice asked. Harry was pretty sure it was Robin.

“Should be soon,” Jay replied. “Are they OK?”

Harry opened his eyes to see Louis nodding with a smile on his face. “Yeah, they’re wonderful. They were born at just over thirty-six weeks, so they’re technically still premature, but only by a few days. The doctor wants to keep them in intensive care for an extra day or two for observations, though.”

“And how’d Harry do?” Anne asked.

“He was brilliant. They gave him whatever drugs they gave him and he was just so peaceful. When they pulled Averie out, they showed her to us and he was just so happy. Like, here’s this little… thing crying at us and covered in gunk and I’ve never seen him happier. And when they pulled out Oliver? He just looked at me and said, ‘Louis, we did it.’”

Harry reached a hand down to his stomach, which had been hard and strong to his touch just yesterday, only to feel it soft and mushy. He trailed his fingers down a little more and felt bandages, ones that were covering up the spot where the doctors had cut him open.

He smiled then, realizing that it wasn’t a dream. He was really a father, and his babies were really here.

“Hey,” he spoke as loudly as he could. It only came out as a whisper, but everyone heard.

Louis, Anne, Jay, Robin and Dan all turned to look at him.

“Hey, baby,” Louis said. The smile that had been on his face only grew wider as he grabbed onto Harry’s hand. “You did so wonderfully in there. How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” Harry answered honestly.

“That’s normal, H,” Jay told him. “You’ll feel better soon, once you meet your babies.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re getting cleaned up for you,” Anne replied. “The doctors had to run all of their tests and things, but promised they would bring them down for a quick visit.”

“They were still a little early, so they have to stay in intensive care for a few days,” Louis said. “But besides that, our babies are perfect, Harry.”

Harry felt tears spring up in his eyes. “Tell me about them?”

“Averie has a full head of hair already,” Louis started. “It’s dark, like yours. Oliver’s got some hair, and it’s lighter than mine, so he may have picked up that blonde trait that runs in my family. We’ll see.”

“OK,” Harry sniffled. He wiped at his wet eyes.

“Don’t cry. You’ll see them soon.”

“I’ll go see if I can find out when we can expect them,” Jay offered.

But she didn’t have to. At that moment, the door opened slowly, and a nurse peeked her head in. “Hi. Is the daddy awake?”

“I’m here,” Harry answered before anyone else could. He sat up straighter in the bed, ignoring the pain he felt. “I’m awake.”

The nurse smiled and pushed the door open farther, allowing the two nurses behind her to each wheel in a bassinet.

Harry gasped, seeing a little pink hat nestled in one and a blue hat in the other.

“We’ll give you boys some privacy,” Harry heard his mother say. He didn’t watch their parents all leave the room, as his focus was on the babies currently being picked up.

The nurse carrying Averie came over to the bed and placed her in Harry’s arms.

“Hi, pretty girl,” he whispered to her. Her dark hair was peeking out from underneath her hat, with some pieces reaching all the way down to her ears. Louis was right: she did have a lot of hair.

He looked over to Louis, who was sitting on the bed next to Harry with Oliver in his arms.

Harry looked at the baby boy, whose hands balled up into little fists as he yawned.

“Oh, my God,” Harry said in amazement.

“We’ll leave you alone,” one of the nurses said.

Once again, he paid them no mind. He had two beautiful babies and a doting husband in front of him; there was no time for anybody else.

“What do you think, babe?” Louis asked him. “Think we can keep them?”

Harry let out a quick laugh. “Absolutely.”

He placed a gentle kiss on the top of each of their heads, and knew that in this moment, everything was perfect.

---

BREAKING: Harry Styles delivers twins!

Look out, world! Two beautiful future models have just arrived on the scene.

Former model Harry Styles, who has never once confirmed his pregnancy despite plenty of incriminating photos, has just become a father with husband Louis Tomlinson.

Babies Averie and Oliver, who are the first children for Styles and Tomlinson, were born just after ten o’clock on Thursday morning. As confirmed by Styles’ rep, the entire family is doing well!

Styles, 30, famously retired from the modeling world in February 2015 after several years of discussing his plans to start a family with Tomlinson, 32. In January, it was first speculated that Styles was expecting after photos surfaced of him wearing a baggy sweatshirt that could have possibly been covering a baby bump. In the months since, neither Styles, Tomlinson nor their reps confirmed or denied the news. But now, that’s no longer necessary.

No word yet on what the babies look like, but based on their parents, it’s easy to assume that both Averie and Oliver are absolutely beautiful.

Congratulations to the happy family!