"I hate you. I hate you so fucking much, why did you do this to me?"

"'M sorry, love," Louis mutters, letting Harry squeeze his hand. He's lost any hope of being able to feel his fingers. "You're doing wonderfully, though."

"Fuck off," Harry growls. Louis isn't even slightly offended. He can't imagine he'd be any better if he was in labour. Harry squeezes Louis' hand even harder (which, Louis didn't know was possible) and sniffles, his cheeks rosy. When the contraction passes, he exhales in relief and leans back into the pillow.

"'M sorry," He mumbles, wiping his face (Louis doesn't know if it's sweat or tears). "M being so mean to you, I feel terrible."

"'S okay, baby," Louis assures gently, brushing some of Harry's curls out of his face. He thinks Harry looks beautiful, absolutely godly, but he's afraid of his head being bitten off. "I'll get you back for it someday."

Harry smiles weakly, bringing Louis' hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. "And I'm sorry I made your fingers purple."

Louis grins back at him, fond. "You just focus on popping the baby out, yeah?"

"I love you," Harry sniffles. "I don't deserve you."

"Can't argue with that," Louis smirks. Harry just giggles, and Louis leans down to kiss the top of his head. "Try and get some rest before the next one, okay?"

"M'kay," Harry sighs. "Love you, L."

Louis doesn't point out that he just told him he loves him, instead kissing the top of his head again. "I love you too, bub. 'N I'm so glad I'm having a baby with you."

♛

"Pssst, Daddy!"

"Mhm?" Louis grunts, burying his face into his pillow. Exhaustion wracks his whole body as he feels a weight land on his stomach, making him sigh. So much for sleeping in. When he blinks his eyes open, Gracie is sitting on top of him, grinning wide.

"Daddy, it's my birthday!" She squeaks. Her big smile melts Louis' grumpiness just a little. He can't help but smile back at her, weary, and sit up a bit.

"'S right," Louis rubs his eyes. "How old are you now? Thirty-two?"

"No, I'm six!" Gracie giggles.

"Ah, that was my next guess," Louis chuckles, wrapping Gracie up in his arms and peppering her cheek with kisses. Gracie squeals, trying desperately to push him away. With one final kiss to her forehead, Louis says, "Happy birthday, Gracie girl. I can't believe you're six. Practically a grown up."

"Yup!" Gracie beams.

"Six years ago right now, me and Papa were at the hospital," Louis mentions, glancing down at Harry, still sound asleep next to him. "You were taking your sweet time getting here, and I was probably on my fourth or fifth cup of coffee."

Gracie doesn't seem very interested. "We should wake Papa up!" She starts to crawl towards Harry, but Louis catches her quick, and she whines. "Daddyyy!"

"No, ma'am," Louis says, and Gracie huffs angrily. "Let's give Papa a few more minutes, okay? In the meantime, I can make you some pancakes for your big birthday?"

"I don't like your pancakes, though," Gracie whines. Ouch. Louis can't help but pout a little. "I want Papa's."

"Papa needs sleep, babe," Louis says softly. He cradles Gracie's bum with his arm so he can lift her up as he stands, grabbing his glasses off the bedside table and slipping them on. "If you want to wait for Papa's pancakes, I can make you some birthday breakfast hot chocolate?"

Will he regret it when the sugar hits? Yes. But, it's her birthday. Might as well let her have fun. "Okay!" Gracie grins, content. Louis kisses the top of her head and carries her out of the bedroom, heading downstairs.

Gracie, with the promise of hot chocolate, waits patiently at the kitchen table while Louis prepares it for her (the last time he let her do it herself they were scrubbing chocolate off everything for weeks (that time when Harry was mad at him, Louis understood)).

"Daddy?" Gracie asks.

"Yes, babe?" He replies, waiting for the kettle to heat up. He has a firm stance against microwave hot chocolate.

"How old are you?" Gracie tilts her head to the side a bit.

"I'm turning twenty-seven in December," Louis says with a slight grimace. "But, if anyone asks, it's twenty-three."

"How old is Papa?" Gracie asks.

"Papa is twenty-four," Louis answers. Sometimes he forgets how much kids like to ask questions.

"So you're older than him?" Gracie confirms.

"Only by a few years," Louis chuckles. "I was eighteen and he was sixteen when we met."

"You guys are old."

"Thank you so much, G."

"You're welcome," Gracie, evidentially, doesn't detect the sarcasm. "I have to wee."

"You don't need to announce it," Louis laughs as Gracie climbs out of her kitchen chair and runs down the hall. Almost as soon as he hears the washroom door shut, Harry appears in the kitchen, a sleepy pout on his face. Louis can't help but smile. "Good morning, love. You just missed Gracie calling us old."

"Us? Or just you?" Harry teases. Louis glares at him, but it melts away when Harry approaches him and kisses his cheek. "Tea?"

"Hot chocolate," Louis replies. Harry gives him a look of disdain, apparently still traumatised from last time. "I'm not letting her touch it!"

"'S not like I trust you much more," Harry giggles, but wraps his arms around Louis' waist and rests his head on his shoulder. Louis kisses the top of his head. "Can't believe it's been six years already."

"I know," Louis sighs, wrapping his arm around Harry. "She's growin' up too fast."

"But now we have two more," Harry beams up at him, eyes sparkling. Louis could melt. "We get to do it all over again."

"When are you thinking we should tell G?" Louis asks. Harry exhales softly, closing his eyes, nose pressed into the crook of Louis' neck.

"I don't know," He says quietly. "I don't want to tell anyone too soon, with the risk of...something happening," Louis' grip on him tightens instinctively. "But 'm not gonna be able to hide it for long."

"I'm gonna be huge!" Louis mocks, his voice high-pitched. Harry elbows him, and he laughs. Gracie pads into the kitchen, gasping and running over to Harry when she sees he's awake.

"Papa!" She squeals.

"Gracie!" Harry scoops her up and kisses her face just like Louis had. "Happy birthday, bub. Can't believe my baby is six."

"'M not a baby, Papa!" Gracie frowns, offended.

"You're always gonna be my baby," Harry giggles, kissing the top of Gracie's head. The kettle whistles, and Louis moves to make Gracie's hot chocolate.

"Hot chocolate, beautiful?" Louis asks Harry, grabbing a mug for Gracie out of the cabinet.

Harry grins."Yes, please," He replies, still holding Gracie. "What do you want for brekkie, G?"

"Pancakes, pretty please?" Gracie juts her bottom lip out, batting her eyelashes. It doesn't work on Harry as well as it does on Louis, but this time Harry grins. Louis wonders if he'll be this nice to him on his birthday.

"Of course," He kisses the top of Gracie's head again before setting her down. "You want some, Lou?"

"Sure," Louis hip-checks Harry gently. "Only if there's extra chocolate chips."

"Hot chocolate and chocolate chip pancakes," Harry shakes his head. "'M gonna have to deal with both of you jacked up on sugar?"

"As if you don't love it," Louis gives him a cheeky grin.

♛

"So, Gracie," Lottie starts, taking a sip of her tea. She refused cake, saying she was on a diet. Louis hates that, he hates how girls will do that to themselves. She's beautiful just the way she is; all of his sisters are. He hopes Gracie never feels like she has to do that. "How does it feel being six?"

"The same," Gracie shrugs, mouth stuffed full of chocolate cake. "I thought I'd be talla'."

"Overnight?" Félicité grins. "That's a tall order. No pun intended."

"Lou, love, would you like some wine?" Jay asks from where she's standing at the counter, pouring some in a glass for herself.

"Um, just a little," Louis says. He feels kind of bad drinking right in front of Harry when he can't.

"Harry?" Jay asks. Louis watches Harry panic. If he says no, everyone will know for sure.

So, instead, Harry says, "Yes, please." Louis gives him a confused look, which Harry returns with a helpless one. Jay sets a glass down in front of each of them.

"What did your parents get you for your birthday, Gracie?" Dan asks, Doris in his lap. Doris doesn't like chocolate, so Jay made an entire separate cake for her. She's ridiculous, Louis would've just told her to suck it up (that's what he's telling himself, anyways. He knows he's just as much of a pushover as his mum is).

"A bike!" Gracie squeaks, her mouth covered in chocolate. Harry tries to lean over and wipe it off, but she seats his hand away. "It's a big girl bike, it doesn't have any trainin' wheels. Daddy said he'd teach me how to ride it!"

"Wow," Dan smiles. "Lucky girl."

When no one is looking, Louis reaches over and grabs Harry's glass of wine, chugging it down before putting it back down in front of Harry. Harry presses his lips together to keep from laughing. If Louis could flip him off right now, he would.

"I wan' go play with my new toys," Gracie says after finishing off her cake.

"Me too!" Doris gasps. "Can I?"

"Sure," Gracie climbs out of her kitchen chair. "Papa says I'm a good sharer."

Doris climbs out of Dan's lap and follows Gracie into the lounge. Louis' sisters get into a heated discussion about who Gracie's favourite aunt is, and Harry has to get up and leave to the washroom when he starts to feel a little nauseous (Louis wants to go with him, but he's afraid that will be too obvious).

"Lou, babe, I have to put the rest of this in the basement," Jay interrupts Daisy's passionate rant about how much Gracie adores her, nodding towards the wine bottles and extra cake on the counter. "Could you help me out?"

"Yeah, sure," Louis stands up out of his chair and takes the bottles off the counter, following his mum out of the kitchen and to the basement.

As soon as they're down there, Jay turns to Louis and says "Can't believe you managed to get his wine down that fast. How far along is he?"

Louis freezes, almost dropping the wine bottles in his hand. Jay raises an eyebrow at him, bending down to put the cake in the fridge. "I, um," Louis swallows thickly. "How did you...?"

"You really think I wouldn't figure it out?" Jay laughs. Louis stands completely still, so Jay takes the wine from him and puts that back as well. "You didn't answer my question."

"Um, s-seven weeks, I think," Louis sputters. Jay grins. "It's...it's twins."

Her face lights up, and Louis can't help but smile a little. "Oh, Lou," She gushes, practically attacking him in a hug. Warmth spreads through Louis' entire body as he hugs her back. "I told you so!"

"Knew you'd say that," Louis' smile widens. "Don't tell anyone, though, please. H wants to keep it on the low for a while."

"Of course," Jay nods, leaning back from Louis and grabbing his face. She squishes his cheeks, and he wrinkles his nose. "You look really good, Lou."

"How much wine did you have?" Louis teases.

"I'm serious," Jay laughs. "You look...happy. Have you been sleeping?"

Louis' teasing grin melts into a small, more genuine one. "Yeah. I've been taking stuff for anxiety, and that helps."

"That's good, baby," Jay gives him a watery smile. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Mum," Louis chuckles as she pulls his face down so she can kiss his forehead.

♛

"I don't want my birthday to end."

Harry grins, brushing Gracie's hair out of her face. "I know, bub," He says. "But you have a whole year of being six to get through. Think of all the big things you're going to do."

"Like what?" Gracie asks, her eyelids drooping down a little.

"Well," Louis hums. "You're probably going to grow a little taller. You're going to make new friends, and learn to ride your new bike, and get even smarter and cooler and prettier."

"Y've got a big year ahead," Harry smiles fondly. "Being six is the coolest."

"Okay," Gracie says through a yawn, snuggling into her pillow. "I guess so."

Harry giggles, leaning down to kiss Gracie's forehead. "G'night, bub," He says softly. "Love you."

"Love you too, Papa," Gracie says softly. "Love you, Daddy,"

"I love you too, G," Louis smiles. He helps Harry up off the bed, turning off the light in Gracie's room and leading Harry out to the hallway. As they walk to their own bedroom, Harry gives him a look.

"You look guilty."

"I do not."

"Liar."

"Haz," Louis sighs, entering their bedroom. He takes his shirt off to change into his pyjamas, avoiding Harry's eyes. "What could I have possibly done in the two and a half hours we were at my mum's?"

"I don't know," Harry squints. "Something."

Louis sighs again, running his fingers through his hair. "Okay. It's totally not a big deal," Harry raises his eyebrow at him. "My mum knows."

Harry's face settles into anger. "Louis."

"She just knew, H," Louis groans, tossing his shirt into the hamper. "I'm sorry. I couldn't lie to her."

"Yes, you could have!" Harry huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told you I didn't want anyone to know yet, you could have told her she was wrong. You could have thought about how I'd feel."

"Harry," Louis starts, but Harry doesn't let him.

"I told you I didn't want anyone to know in case something would happen," Harry's eyes are shiny. Louis realises he isn't even mad. He's just hurt. "And you told your mum anyways."

"I'm sorry," Louis says softly. "You're right, I'm sorry. I should have told her you weren't."

Harry softens up a little bit, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. "I'm overreacting," He mumbles after a moment. "I'm sorry."

"No, babe, I get it," Louis assures, approaching a Harry and holding his face in his hands. "I'm sorry. You have every right to be upset with me."

Harry looks up at Louis, leaning into his hand and sighing gently. "I just don't want anything to happen," He whispers. Louis is quick to wrap Harry up in his arms, kissing the top of his head.

"I know, love," He mumbles into Harry's hair, resting his hand on the small raise of Harry's stomach. "I'm sorry. But, 'm not gonna let anything happen, okay?"

Louis knows he has no control over that, and he also knows that Harry knows that. But, Harry nuzzles his nose into the crook of Louis' neck and mumbles, "I know."

I DONT LIKE THIS IM SORRY UGHHH