"See? Doesn't this look nice?"

Clara and Angelina just look up at him blankly, rucksacks on their backs as Louis plasters a smile on his face. "I wanna go back to Hull," Clara says, pouting a little. He can see the fear in her eyes as they shift over to the school, big and brick and probably scary in the eyes of a nine year old.

"Me too," Angelina says. Louis knows she's just saying that because she wants to be like her older sister. The bell rings, and the masses of children start to hurry inside the big double doors. Adjusting Frankie where she rests on his hip, he squats down so he can be eye-level with his girls.

"I know this is probably a little scary," He says gently, offering them both a softer, more sympathetic smile. "And it might take a little getting used to, but you are two of the smartest, funniest, coolest kids I know. You're gonna make so many new friends, and have so much fun here. I promise," He sees a teacher, presumably, standing in the doorway eyeing them. He sighs, standing up straight. "Alright, looks like you guys have to head in."

Clara looks visibly anxious, but she practically lunges forward and wraps her arms around Louis' waist. Louis feels a small pang of guilt in his chest. He puts his free hand on her back, leaning down and kissing the top of her head . "I love you, kiddo," He mumbles into her hair.

"I love you too," She says, voice muffled against his shirt. She hugs him for a moment longer before stepping back, and Angelina takes her place.

He's a little more nervous about Angelina. Her old school was really good about making sure all the kids were sympathetic of her illness, and letting her skip or go to the nurse when she didn't feel good. He doesn't know if this school will be as understanding. He kisses the top of her head, covered with one of his beanies. "'N I love you, Ang," He says softly.

"I love you too, Daddy!" She squeaks. When she steps back, Clara takes her hand.

"I'll show you where your classroom is," She assures, and Louis' heart swells. They both wave to Louis before turning to walk into the school, and Louis watches them the whole way in, sighing as soon as they're out of sight.

"Okay," He exhales, looking to Frankie. "Better get going, peanut. We've got a big day of unpacking ahead of us."

♛

Louis is three boxes of toys deep when the doorbell rings. He isn't quite used to the sound yet, and it causes him to jump, head whipping towards where Frankie is sleeping in the pack-and-play. She seems to not be disturbed.

Standing up off the floor, he makes his way downstairs to the front door. When he opens it, he reveals a boy standing there with a tinfoil-wrapped plate in his hands. Louis feels guilt dripping over him when he realizes he finds him incredibly beautiful, but it turns to pain when he remembers he and Mara aren't together anymore. "Um, hi."

"Hi," The boy smiles at him. "Sorry to bother you, I know you're probably busy unpacking."

"Ah, no worries," Louis assures. He hates small talk. As pretty as this man is, he would like to go back to sitting in a room by himself.

"'M Harry, I live next door," He nods towards the house to the left of Louis'. Louis' never seen someone's front garden have so many flowers before. "I saw you had a kid, and I figured they'd probably like some homemade cookies. I hope that's okay."

Louis can get along with anyone who's nice to his daughters. "I've got three actually, they'll be psyched," He grins, taking the plate when the boy offers it to him. "Thank you so much."

"Oh, no problem," Harry smiles back at him. Louis is going to say something about how he should go back to packing, but then he remembers how his mother always says how important it is to get close with your neighbours. And, since it's just him with the girls, it probably wouldn't hurt to have someone he knows so close.

So instead, he says "Uh, would you like to come in for a cuppa or summat? I have not unpacked the kettle yet, but I'm pretty sure I know where it is."

Harry hesitates for a moment, but ultimately ends up nodding. "Yeah, sure."

Louis steps out of the way, allowing Harry to step inside. "Do you want me to take my shoes off?" He asks, and for some reason Louis finds it incredibly endearing.

"Sure," He shrugs, and Harry kicks off his Chelsea boots to reveal pink socks. Louis leads him to the kitchen, setting the plate of cookies down on the counter and nodding towards a stool at the island. "You can take a seat."

"Thanks," Harry smiles weakly, sitting down on one of the stools. Louis begins to dig through the boxes on the floor, finding the red kettle wrapped in dishtowels.

Almost as soon as he does, Frankie starts to cry from upstairs, and he can't help but sigh a little in defeat. "'M so sorry, I'll be right back."

"Don't worry about it," Harry laughs a little as he says it. Louis gives him a shy smile, holding his finger up and making his way towards the stairs.

When he gets there, Frankie is gripping the side of the cot to keep herself steady. She can't walk by herself yet, but no matter how many times Louis asks her doctor insists it's normal.

"Well good morning, sunshine," He coos, lifting her up and holding her to his chest. Almost as soon as she's in his arms she stops crying. "You want a cookie, babe?"

"Cuh," Frankie says, so Louis takes that as a yes. He carries her back downstairs, to the kitchen, and Harry's face practically lights up.

"This is Frankie," Louis grins, laughing a little as Frankie blinks up at Harry with big, blue eyes.

"I love that name," Harry beams, waving to her. Frankie giggles, and Louis grins at the sound.

"Straight out of the Arctic Monkeys song," He says, and Harry's smile widens.

"Settle for a draw?" He asks, and Louis nods. "I love that song."

"No way," Louis' eyebrows raise. "Her mum hates that song, but we gave our oldest the middle name McCartney, since Paul's her favourite, so."

It's then Louis realises he kind of just overshared in front of this complete stranger. He feels his cheeks become warm, but Harry doesn't seem fazed. "'S her mum at work?" Harry asks, a question which requires more oversharing. Louis stops himself from deflating a little, clearing his throat and peeling the tinfoil back from the plate.

"No, uh," He tries to think about the best way to put this. "She's...not around. 'S just me."

"Oh!" It's Harry's turn to blush, cheeks becoming a ridiculously pretty pink color. "I'm so sorry."

"'S okay, you didn't know," Louis assures, breaking one of the cookies in half against the plate and handing the piece to Frankie. She takes it, nibbling at it, and Louis gives Harry a small smile. "Sorry. I promised you tea."

Harry's bashful expression turns into a smile again. "No worries," He assures. Louis does the best he can to fill the kettle with one free hand, setting it on the stovetop. He hates the electric stovetop, and much prefers the gas one at their old house. Oh well. Harry bites his lip, looking hesitant before saying, "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it," Louis says, bending down to dig out the box of teabags.

"Is it...scary?" Harry asks. "Doing it alone, I mean?"

That's a weird question to ask a stranger. Louis stands back up, forgetting about the teabags, and ponders what his answer should be for a second. Harry seems to realize this was a weird question to ask someone you just met ten minutes ago, because he bites his lip before saying. "I'm, um, pregnant. And the dad isn't in the picture. So."

Louis' eyebrows shoot up before he can stop himself. "Oh," He hums, glancing down at Frankie, who eats her cookie in peace. He twists his mouth. "It's...harder than it is doing it with someone else," He admits. Harry nods. "But I think that makes the good parts more rewarding, y'know?"

"Yeah?" Harry asks hopefully. Louis nods, giving Harry a smile.

"Just...don't be afraid to ask for help," Louis says. Harry frowns a little. "Took me seven months to figure out I had to move closer to my mum."

"That's why you moved?" Harry asks softly. Louis nods.

"We used to live in Hull," He explains. "But then their mum left, 'n my, um...my second youngest got leukaemia. So."

"I'm so sorry," Harry says. For the second time. Louis hates that, hates being pitied, and Harry is just being nice, but still. He doesn't want people to feel bad for him. He forces a smile in Harry's direction, finally going back down to the boxes to get the teabags. When he stands back up, box of green tea bags in hand, Harry looks back up at him. "I studied early childhood education. So if you ever...need a babysitter or anything..."

Now Louis can see why his mum made such a point of getting to know your neighbours. He gives Harry a more genuine smile. "Might take you up on that," He nods, and Harry smiles. "You'll need the practice anyways, yeah?"

Harry blushes again, lips tightening. "Mhm," He nods.

"'Ve got to start looking for a job, anyways," Louis changes the subject when he senses Harry doesn't want to talk about it anymore.

"What do you do?" Harry asks.

"I'm...um, I was a firefighter," Louis explains. "Now 'm doing some fire investigating for the fire station down the road. But, 's not super consistent, so. I'm hoping to find a second job that's a little more stable."

"Ah," Harry nods again. The kettle whistles, and Louis realises he forgot to find the mugs.

"Fuck," He mutters, glancing back down at the boxes by his feet. "Would've been good to find the cups too, huh? I hate moving."

Harry giggles, and Louis can't help but smile when he does. He makes a mental note to thank his mum later.