night shift // l.s.

seventy nine

he's not exactly sure what started his rollercoaster of emotions today. it could have been the fact that his daughter took it upon herself to actually say "daddy" instead of "da" (it sounds like da-ee more than anything) or the fact he found the playboy bunny sweatshirt liam gave him all those years ago sitting in the back of his closet.

everything's crashing down on him so hard he's honestly not sure how to handle it. he's dealt with this for years, he's gonna have to deal with it for more, but will it ever end? it's always the person you least expect. liam, his best friend, stalked him until he got his ass beat. evan, his the man that he called 'father in law', his daughter's grandfather, got himself killed because he threw his family under the bus.

what the fuck kind of world was he living in?

he doesn't regret it. fuck no. he loves harry to pieces, that's his fucking soulmate, but it's scary. it's scary not knowing who you can trust anymore because the people you fully believed in turned their backs on you in a matter of seconds.

he sits on the bed and clutches the sweatshirt to his chest, eyes brimming with unwanted tears. this whole week...these past few months...this past year has been a mess. evan's dead, zayn's the new leader, harry's his right hand man. niall's having a baby and raven's walking and talking. why is everything going so fast?

the door to the bedroom opens just a tad to see harry walking in shrugging his jacket off of his shoulders. he throws his car keys on the dresser and turns to face louis, who is lost in his own little world bawling on the bed.

"prince," harry murmured and kneels on the mattress. "baby?"

"'m okay," louis sniffles.

harry crawls behind him, pulling louis' back to his chest. wrapping his arms loosely around him and pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck until he hooks his chin over his shoulder. louis lolls his head back, closing his eyes and takes a deep, deep breath.

"what's that?" harry glances down to louis' arms.

louis drops the sweatshirt. "old present from liam.."

"oh lou," harry frowns. "i can set it on fire if you want?"

louis shrugs and throws the shirt across the room. "i'm just tired, harry."

he shifts around until he's facing his fiancé. harry leans against the headboard as louis rests his head on his chest, both of them now laying down. harry runs his fingertips down louis' back and kisses the top of his head.

"i know, baby, i know," he wraps his arms around louis again and sighs softly. "i'm sorry."

"'s not your fault," louis mumbles. "life sucks."

harry chuckles and nods. "life fucking sucks but you know what makes our life good?"

louis looks up at him and raises an eyebrow.

"us. we make our life good." harry gives him a small grin. "we're one hell of a team together. we got our moments, but we always come back better than before."

the smaller man nods at that and lays his head back down. "i think i just need a break."

harry purses his lips and stares at the ceiling silently until louis snuggles closer against him.

"i think i might go visit my mum for a few days, just to get out for a bit," louis' tone is softer than before, as if he were scared to say it. "it'd be good to see her, and she can see the baby again."

the gang member strokes louis' hair as he speaks and he sinks against the bed.

"you have a lot going on here with zayn and everything else that i doubt he would even let you leave...but i think i just need to get away for a while before i flip my shit," his fiancé says and rolls over, pulling the blankets over them.