theres a bit of dialogue in this one & its more of a filler, sorry ):

—-

louis was crushed.

not only that, he felt guilty most of all. zayn really took the rat for something he had no part of. if both of them said it wasn't theirs, though, they both would have went down for it anyways. ultimately it's zayn's car, the heroin was in his posession.

louis listened to the arguments between harry and evan while waiting on zayn to call from the jail. he was on a sixteen thousand dollar bond for trafficking. harry wanted to bail him out as soon as possible but evan was opposed because he claimed it would be better so fix this before it gets worse. that's where they bumped heads. harry thought it was unfair because his brother should be here helping them figure this shit out just in case someone else is next. he's the brains of the trio, he's quick to put two and two together even though he plays dumb. when things get serious, zayn was always the one to ease the tension. it wasn't a coincidence now. harry was first, now zayn. something was definitely going on.

niall kept zayn's phone time racked with money so he could call and talk as much as possible. zayn told him he had court in a few days and would more than likely have to sit until he met bail, or if he was lucky they would give him a percentage of his bond to pay in order to be released. this was his first trafficking offense, they may cut him some slack.

harry threw the nearest item against the wall upstairs in frustration. it happened to be the controller to his own game console, but he wasn't worried about it. he was pissed. zayn didn't deserve to put up with this at all. he would have done the same thing if niall were with him and they got pulled over but it still didn't make sense. he gave him props for doing what he did though. zayn was always one to have someones back one hundred percent. he did it for raven. he loved the child as if she were his own.

"jesus fucking- fuck," harry groaned and stormed out of the room, shuffling down the stairs and sat on the last step. raven spotted her father and crawled over to him, giving him a toothy grin when he picked her up and held her close.

louis moved from his spot on the couch and climbed up behind harry on the staircase. he sat with his one leg on each side of him, wrapping his arms loosely around harry's neck and pulled his back to his chest.

"zayn's okay," he murmured. "still mad at him, but he's alright."

harry sighed and tilted his head back. "if i could kill ev right now, i would."

louis pressed a tender kiss to his temple. "i agree that he's being a bit insensitive over this."

raven tugged at harry's hair and louis carefully moved her hands away before pulling harry's hair back into a low bun.

"easy beebs," he crooned. "gonna hurt daddy."

"daddy's okay," harry mumbled. "she's fine, lou."

his fiancé grabbed one of raven's hands and kissed her tiny fingers. the infant spread her hand out and patted louis' jaw before dropping it and leaning against harry's chest. her father rubbed her back as soft babbles came out of her mouth and she eventually dozed off in harry's arms.

"she calms you down," louis whispered, stroking harry's cheek with his hand.

"both of you do," the gang member sighed. "i'm sorry.."

louis shrugged his shoulders and rests his chin on top of harry's head. "'s gonna be okay, little lion," he brings up his old nickname. harry's stomach fluttered a bit and he smiled softly. he hadn't heard that pet name in ages and a whoosh of memories hit him like a train.

"y'know, zayn basically foreshadowed that you were pregnant," he says. "you were sick that one time and we were so stoned. an' you know how zee gets, thinking out loud and shit. well he looked at me and said something like 'what if dudes could get pregnant'," he snorts. "i nearly pissed myself once we found out you really were."

"you? holy shit, i thought i was gonna die," louis chuckled and harry eased one hand off of his kid, moving it to rest on louis' knee.

"i miss my brother, lou," he frowns. louis' facial expressions drop as well and he gives the man a gentle squeeze, rocking them from side to side. even though they were best friends, harry considered zayn as a brother. his parents were harry's parents. they took him under their wing when harry joined their alliance. they were his family.

"i know, hazza," he tries to comfort him. "i do too. and i know nialler is so sad.."

"oh shit," harry whispered. "niall's birthday's on sunday- we gotta get that kid out of their flat. he's gonna die of a broken heart if zayn doesn't get out soon."

louis nods in agreement and moves his arms, placing his hands on harry's shoulders and gave him a gentle massage. "ni needs to see him. maybe not in a jumpsuit, but he needs to see him."

he takes a hand and tilts harry's head to where he could look him in the eyes. "and you need to stop letting evan act like he can do this all on his own. he's not gonna bail zayn out right now so you are his saving grace."

"i can't fight with him anymore. i'm tired," his lover looked up at him with hurt in his eyes. and he was. he had bags from not sleeping the last three days. he was barely eating. he was more focused on keeping raven entertained and figuring out why zayn had heroin strapped under his car than himself.

louis kissed his nose. "i know, baby," he stroked his face again. "go put rae in her pack and play and let's go lie down, yeah? take a nap with me," he suggests. "we can cuddle and watch netflix if you can't sleep."

he felt harry's lips press the tiniest kiss on his jaw and harry scooted up so he could move. louis stood up and helped harry up on his feet while he held raven close, leading him upstairs to the guest bedroom of zayn's safehouse and slipped in the master bedroom. harry laid his daughter down in her temporary crib and made sure she was still asleep before he followed his fiancé's foosteps into the room.

"i busted my controller," the older man pointed to the broken remote across the room. "evan was being a dickface so i kinda just imagined the wall was him."

louis shrugs and extends his arms out. "controllers are replacable. husbands are not. come lay with me."

harry swooned at husband and crawled into bed, not even bothering to get under the covers. he laid his head on louis' chest, feeling every bit of anger flush away when louis' dainty hand began to play with his hair.

—-

harry was sitting on zayn's loveseat with a blanket wrapped around him as he watched reruns of bones on the television. louis had just put raven down for bed before he took a shower, so harry took the time to chill out by himself and focus on something other than the elephant in the room. his fiancé nearly got sent to prison over a trafficking charge and he got let go because his own brother didn't want to see him behind bars. that's what family does. they stick together when times get tough and fight tooth and nail until their very last breaths.

harry was in the middle of the gravedigger episode with booth (which was really good, full of emotions) when louis came downstairs with his phone pressed to his ear.

"niall, i love you bub," he sighed. "but i just don't see how that's possible."

harry diverted his gaze to his fiancé, who made his way onto the loveseat and crawled under the blanket with harry to put the call on speaker.

"you can't say you haven't thought about it," niall's voice chimes through. "the gang hasn't been busted yet, why would a cop plant something on you guys if you had a clean record, lou? if zayn was a known dealer, maybe, but he only had a few old charges that he did time for. or even if he was just by himself. they would have had to find the right time with him alone and get him when he was most vulnerable."

harry nodded. "'s true. he did a year for laundering when he was taking about eight grand to dad.."

louis whistled. "that's alot of money."

"that's alot of drugs," his fiancé wrapped his arm around louis' shoulders and pulled him closer. louis snuggled into his side, resting the phone on the blanket.

"ni," he bit his lip. "if you're right about this-"

"i just have that feeling, lou," his friend interrupted. "zayn told me he wasn't read his rights, he's gonna tell his lawyer as soon as he meets her in the morning."

"bet they'll dismiss it once they find out," harry rubs louis' arm when his partner rests his head near his neck. "i'm sorry you're dealing with all this stress, nialler. wanna come over and have a beer?"

the line was quiet until a faint sniffle was heard. "everything reminds me of him now," niall's voice cracked. "the safe house would just make it worse, h. i dunno."

louis frowns. "'s alright, bubba. you need to rest, anyways."

niall let out a small 'yeah' in agreement and sighed. "i think i'm gonna try and sleep this off until zee calls me again. i'm sorry lads."

harry told him not to apologize and bid him a goodnight so the lad could rest. when their phone call ended, louis made himself comfortable by sitting on harry's lap with his back against the arm of the loveseat. harry readjusted the blanket to cover their legs and kept one arm wrapped around his lover to keep him secure.

"so niall doesn't believe that cops set us up," louis picked at his nails. he chewed on the inside of his cheek in concentration, trying to see if he could use his brain to put things together.

"neither do i," harry admits.

the smaller boy looked at him. harry shrugged with a sad look and gave louis' leg a gentle squeeze with his free hand. "does he think it's someone inside?"

"in or out, either one," louis mumbled. "but who would want to put zayn locked up, haz? he's like, i don't know, the glue of our group. you've got the violent tendencies so nobody tries to fuck with you. he's got the smarts."

harry pouts playfully.

"i'm not saying you're stupid," louis cupped his cheek. "but you two are the dynamic duo here, i wouldn't want to cross your bad side if i was an outsider. jus' saying."

harry turned his head and kissed the pad of his thumb. "i'm not used to being away from him like this," he says. "usually he never answers my calls because he's asleep. now i can't call him. it's weird."

louis apologizes softly and strokes the man's jaw before pressing his lips to harry's other cheek. "he'll be home soon. are you gonna get him out soon or wait 'til his hearing?"

harry shrugs again because his hands are tied. he wants to help zayn but he's confused as to why evan didn't hop right on it to do it himself. "anyone can get their hands on dope if they know the right people. we can't just point fingers and think we're in the right. if my brother was set up, we need to be confident that we knew who did it and why."

"then explain to me, haz, who do you think set him up? if it wasn't the feds."

not a peep came out of the man under him as he stared at the telly. louis was about to go all 'earth to harry' on him when he ended up finishing the rest of the episode that was playing instead of getting everything off his chest.

"there has got to be a reason dad doesn't want zayn bailed out just yet."

—-

what is that reason?

these next few chaps will be a bit confusing, maybe, and im gonna try my best to clarify everything throughout them. ive tried making sure everything is crystal clear & youll understand why soon!!

thoughts on the chap? WHATS EVAN UP TO?