"I love you. I'm sorry."

Louis smiles, fond, looking over at where Harry is sitting in the passenger seat. "Don't worry about it, bub," He assures gently, handing Harry the paper bag. Inside is an Oreo ice cream cake, a box of plastic forks, and hot sauce, because what else would his five month pregnant husband crave at three in the morning?

"I'll get up and make the coffee tomorrow," Harry assures, pulling the cake out of the bag. "And breakfast."

"Baby," Louis' smile widens. Harry looks up at him guiltily. "Don't worry about it. Seriously. You can't help it if you're craving something."

"I should've gotten it myself," Harry pouts.

"There is nothing I'd rather be doing right now than buying you ice cream cake and hot sauce," Louis assures, and that makes Harry grin a little.

"You want some?" He asks, taking his hot sauce out of the bag.

"Sure," Louis grabs a plastic fork out of the box. "I'll take mine without hot sauce, though."

"Weak," Harry teases. He squirts some on one part of the cake. Louis is trying so hard not to gag right now. Harry takes a bite, beaming. "This is exactly what I wanted it to taste like."

"Harry, pumpkin, that is honestly making me nauseous," Louis laughs, and Harry gives him a lighthearted scowl. He takes some of the frosting off the ice cream cake and wipes it onto Louis' nose. Louis is endlessly endeared. "You know, I actually like frosting on my nose, so thank you."

"Oh, really?" Harry leans over and licks it off his nose. Louis responds by kissing him, Harry giggling into his mouth. They kiss for a moment, parked in the Tesco's parking lot, an ice cream cake covered in hot sauce sitting on Harry's lap, until Harry suddenly leans back.

"You okay?" Louis asks.

"Give me your hand," Harry demands. Louis is utterly confused, but he obeys, and Harry slips his hand under his shirt to rest it on his tummy. Louis is about to ask what the fuck he's doing when he feels it. Soft, fluttery nudges against his palm.

"Holy shit!" Louis' jaw goes slack, his eyes widening. "Haz, the baby's kicking, holy shit!"

"I know," Harry giggles. He looks beautiful, Louis thinks, soft and pretty and wonderful. The nudges stop after a moment, and Harry pouts, taking another bite of his cake. Almost as soon as he does, the baby kicks again, and he grins. "See! Baby likes it too!"

"Aw, baby's a little weirdo," Louis coos, and Harry laughs. "Just like Papa."

"Heyyy," Harry whines. Louis just kisses him again, his hand still splayed over Harry's belly.

♛

"I don't get why I have to have this whole elaborate costume, but you get to just throw some antlers on and call it a day."

"Because," Harry grins, pressing himself into Louis' back. Louis smiles a little. "She picked you to be Kristoff, and you're a pushover."

"Oi!" Louis huffs. Harry kisses the nape of his neck, his arms around Louis' shoulders. "You're a stage five clinger today."

"I just like to be around you," Harry pouts, pressing his cheek into Louis' back. Louis tries to maintain his act, but he feels his cheeks become warm, and he can't contain the grin that creeps its way onto his face. "And you look cute in your costume."

"My sisters are gonna have a field day with this," Louis grumbles. He turns around in Harry's grip, pinching the tip of his nose lightly and making him wrinkle it. "Can't wait 'till G's too old to need me to dress up with her. She'll be trick-or-treatin' with her friends."

Louis watches as Harry frowns, his bottom lip wobbling a little. "Why would you say that?" He whimpers. Louis furrows his eyebrows as Harry's eyes become teary. "She's just turned six, and we're running out of time with her, and you're saying you can't wait for her to get older?"

"Hey, hey," Louis grabs Harry's face, wiping a tear that trickles down his cheek. "You're right, I'm sorry." Louis, after experiencing Harry being pregnant the first time, has come to realise calling him out on how hormonal and ridiculous he is gets him nowhere (besides a night spent on the couch).

"She's growing up too fast," Harry sniffles.

"I know, love," Louis kisses Harry's forehead tenderly. "'S okay, though. We've got two more to do it all with, yeah?" That seems to calm Harry down a bit. "Can you imagine? Two more Gracie Maes running around the house, getting chocolate all over everything and making us watch Frozen over and over?"

"Goodness," Harry mutters, and Louis chuckles, fond.

♛

"I-I don't want to."

"What?" Louis asks Ernest, holding one of his hands and one of Gracie's. Harry's got Doris.

"C'mon, Ernie," Gracie urges, letting go of Louis' hand and starting towards the house. Doris starts to follow her, but Ernest hide behind Louis' leg.

"Ernie, mate, 's okay," Louis says gently, putting his hand on top of Ernest's head. He's dressed up as Spider-Man; a boy after Louis' heart. "This is the neighbour's house, bud. You know them."

"Don't wanna," Ernest shakes his head.

"You have to go up there if you want candy, E," Louis sighs. All of his sisters are out with their friends, and his mum and Dan seemed exhausted, so Louis and Harry offered to take all three of the little ones trick-or-treating.

"Do you want me to go with you, Ernie?" Harry asks, offering his hand out to Ernest. He's wearing reindeer antlers, the bottom of his nose coloured black. He looks adorable, Louis could melt.

Shyly, Ernest takes Harry's hand. Harry gives Louis a small smile, one that he returns. Harry walks Ernest up to the house, keeping their hands together as Ernest clutches his plastic pumpkin with the other. By the time Ernest is getting candy, Doris and Gracie are running back to Louis.

"Look, Achoo!" Doris holds up a box of maltesers. She's dressed up as an astronaut. A little too basic for Louis' taste. She looks cute, though, so he guesses he'll let it slide.

"Sick," Louis grins. "What about you, Gracie? Get something for me?"

"You can have it if you want!" Gracie grins up at Louis, sweet as ever, offering him her Reese's. Louis' face melts into a smile.

"Very nice of you, G, but you earned it," He chuckles. "Let's wait for Ernie before we go to the next house, yeah?" He looks up to see Harry and Ernest walking down the steps, waving to the woman with the candy bowl in the doorway.

"Me 'n 'Arry got candy!" Ernest squeaks, holding up two pieces of candy.

"See? You did it!" Louis' smile widens, resting his hand on the small of Harry's back. Harry smiles weakly. "Alright, next house, lads, move it along."

They hit most of the houses in the neighbourhood before Louis can see how tired Harry is. By then all of the kids' plastic pumpkins are full, and Gracie is complaining about how her Elsa costume is itching her, so they take them back to Jay's house.

"Mummy!" Doris cheers as she bursts through the door, running up to Jay. "Look at all my sweets!"

"Oh, goodness," Jay laughs. "You'll be eatin' Halloween candy until Easter!"

"'Arry helped me get lotsa sweets," Ernest shows Dan his full pumpkin. Dan grins.

"I hope you said thank you to Harry and Lou for taking you out," He says, patting the top of Ernest's head.

"Thank you, Achoo!" Ernest chirps. "Thank you, 'Arry!"

"Of course, mate," Louis chuckles. The front door swings open, and Lottie audibly gasps.

"Are you wearing tights?!" She howls, pointing at Louis' costume. Félicité walks in after her, clamping her hand over her mouth at the sight of Louis.

"I really do not want to talk about it," Louis sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Even Harry starts to giggle, pressing his lips together when Louis glares at him.

♛

"Fuckin' hell, 've got to get these trousers off," Harry unbuttons his pants and plops down into a kitchen chair. Louis grins, now changed into some pyjamas, and pats Harry's shoulder as he walks by him.

"Maybe start wearing some bottoms that actually fit," He suggests. Harry gives him a look. "You want some of Gracie's candy?"

Harry gapes at him. "No!" He huffs, looking at Louis like he's gone and run over his dog. "That's hers, we can't take it."

"I ate, like, a quarter of it last year," Louis mentions, shrugging. Harry's eyes widen. "She's six, Haz, she's not gonna notice."

"That's mean, though," Harry says. Louis just takes a bag of Skittles out of Gracie's plastic pumpkin and opens it. Harry twists his mouth. "Okay. Toss me a Reese's, please."

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Louis smirks, but he obeys. Harry laughs, catching the Reese's.

"I saw Doris eating hers and 've been craving one since," He sighs softly, opening the orange packaging. Louis smiles, fond, and raises his eyebrows.

"You've been craving a Reese's for three hours?" He asks. "And you didn't ask any of the kids for one?"

"That's their candy," Harry points out, yet he continues to eat Gracie's Reese's. Louis thinks he looks unreasonably cute–his trousers unbuttoned, eating a Reese's, black nose still drawn onto his face.

So, Louis says, "You're cute."

And Harry says, "I know."

it's all fluff i'm SORRY JUICY STUFF IS COMING

btw do we miss miriam