This House (l.s.)

9

"I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck, like in those movies. Not even have sex. Just sleep together in the most innocent sense of the phrase" -John Green

"Jakey, what's wrong?" Louis asks, turning over in bed and seeing his son crack the door open.

"I had a bad dream," Jake says, sniffing.

"C'mere, honey. You can stay with me tonight," Louis says. Jake gets into bed and Louis pulls him into an embrace. "Daddy will protect you. What was your nightmare?"

"Papa didn't live here anymore. He went bye bye and didn't come back," Jake sniffs again.

"Oh, sweetie, that won't happen. Papa is never going to leave us, okay? He's always going to be here and he'll always love you, okay?" Louis says softly, wiping some curls from his eyes.

"Promise?" Jake asks softly.

"Yes, love, I promise. C'mon, let's try to sleep," Louis soothes, kissing his forehead.

"Daddy?" Jake asks.

"What, sweetheart?" Louis asks.

"Why don't you and Papa sleep in the same bed anymore?"

"Oh," Louis swallows. "Daddy hasn't been sleeping well, so Papa lets me sleep alone now."

"Do you sleep better now?"

"Yeah, yeah, sweetie. Papa is going to start sleeping here again, okay? So next time if you need me, he'll be here too, yeah?"

"Okay."

"Get some rest."

The next morning, Louis goes into the spare bedroom holding Joshua, where Harry has temporarily moved. Harry sits up and takes Joshua from him, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Morning, Lou. Something wrong?"

"You have to sleep in our bed again. Jake came in last night with a nightmare last night, and he asked why you weren't there. I made up some weird excuse but I think we should start to get back into our old routine. It's been two months, so maybe we're ready for that step."

"Yeah, of course, Louis, I'd love to. And if you're ready, I'm ready for that cuddling rule," Harry smiles sheepishly.

"We can try it out," Louis says softly, wiping some drool from Joshua's chin.

"He looks like you," Harry says.

"No, I think he looks more like you," Louis replies.

"They're all beautiful. And that's because we made them," Harry whispers.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that."

"Do you remember when Sophia was convinced you ate Jake and that's why you were so big?"

"Yes," Louis laughs. "She was so upset with me."

*****************************************

"Daddy, I have a question," Sophia asks when Louis and Harry are tucking her into bed.

"What is it, honey?" Louis asks, rubbing his belly. There was only three weeks left until the C-section and he was just about ready to pop.

"Why did you eat my brother?" she asks and looks offended. Harry chuckles lowly and Louis is holding back a laugh. "Babies aren't made for eating."

"Soph," Harry says, pushing her hair out of her face. "Daddy didn't eat him."

"Then why is he trapped in Daddy's tummy? How did he get in there?" she asks, crossing her arms.

"Well," Harry coughs awkwardly. "I used a special hose to plant a little seed inside Daddy's tummy and the seed grew into a little baby, and in a few weeks the baby will come out just like you did."

"Oh. Where do you get the seeds?" she asks.

"Lou? Want to tell her?" Harry asks, voice squeaking a little.

"I don't know where you get the seeds, babe. They always seemed to show up surprisingly, so where do you get them?" Louis smirks.

"I, uh, I buy them from a special shop. Only boys older than 21 are allowed in there."

"Oh," she says, thinking about it but then seemingly accepting it.

"Get some sleep, sweetie. You have school in the morning," Louis says, kissing her forehead.

"Okay. Goodnight, Daddy, night, Papa," she says, cuddling up with her stuffed elephant.

"Goodnight, princess. I love you," Harry says softly, kissing her nose.

"Love you too," she yawns. Louis gives her one last kiss. Harry helps him off the bed and puts a supporting hand on his back, leading them out of the room and shutting the lights off.

"Seeds from a store?" Louis asks with a grin. "Special hose meaning your penis, then? Store being your balls?"

"If you want to get technical, yes," Harry laughs. "Better than eating your own son."

"I suppose," Louis says softly. "What if I told you I want to maybe swallow your special seed? Suck your special hose into my mouth?"

"Why is this hot?" Harry growls. "This should definitely not be hot."

"You were never picky," Louis giggles, trailing his hand down and gripping Harry's cock through his pants.

"Yeah," Harry nods. "Bedroom."

***********************************

"Sophia's got great character," Harry says. "Just like you do."

"Yeah, guess she does, then."

Harry slips into their bedroom that night hesitantly and Louis smiles slightly.

"Hi," Harry says gently. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah," Louis says softly. "We can try it. I think it's better for the kids this way and....better for us."

"Okay," Harry murmurs. They get changed in silence, and Louis knows Harry is glancing at him to get whatever kind of view he can, slightly smiling. Louis takes it as a compliment that Harry still wants to see him, still likes what Louis can offer.

They get into bed and Louis can tell Harry's wondering about cuddling, wanting to hold Louis close. Louis swallows hard and looks up at Harry.

"Um, I don't think I'm ready for the whole cuddling thing yet," Louis whispers.

"No, no, that's fine, Louis. I understand," Harry says quickly. "Um, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"I love you," Harry says softly, kissing his forehead once. "Sleep well."

"You too," Louis whispers, turning his back to Harry and closing his eyes. He feels anxious about it, nervous and a bit guilty. He knows he has no reason to, but Harry is back in their bed and he can feels his weight on the other side, can smell his cologne and shampoo and Harry. It's overwhelming, but Louis thinks it's a step in the right direction.