The neighbor

8

On Monday morning he made sure that the kids had breakfast and sat down with a cup of coffee, lost in thoughts. He had an amazing weekend. They went swimming on Saturday and the kids loved it. So did he. They went to the park after that and ate dinner together. On Sunday Harry came to Dominic's football practice as well.
"Dad, is Harry your boyfriend?" Elton asked out of the blue and he choked on his coffee.

"What? Why would you think that? No, we're just friends."

Elton looked disappointed. That apparently wasn't the end of the discussion.
"We wouldn't mind. Harry is nice. It's cool." Elton said.

Louis laughed, because what else could he do? He was totally freaking out on the inside.
"That's really sweet of you Elton but you don't have to think about that."

"But he makes you happy, Dad. He makes you laugh. You haven't laughed since mum died." Dominic said.

Louis' mouth fell open and he stared at his oldest son. He was right. He had stopped laughing. His heart swelled, his throat thickened and tears burned behind his eyes from how much he loved them. They were amazing. So accepting and caring. A tear spilled over and he rubbed his eyes.
"What's wrong, Dad? Why are you crying?" Dominic asked.

"Because you're the best kids in the world and I love you so much." Louis answered with a smile.

Dominic rolled his eyes and Elton giggled.
"Yeah, yeah, we love you too." Dominic replied before he got up to put his bowl in the sink.

They headed to daycare and school before Louis drove to another boring day at work. He should really try and find a new job, one that he actually liked. He was beginning to feel ready to face the world again. A little voice in the back of his head whispered that he had Harry to thank for that.

As soon as his workday was over he ran out to his car to pick up the kids. He knew that he would find Harry in his kitchen, cooking dinner, when he came home and he didn't know how to feel about that now, after the talk he had this morning. He didn't want Dominic and Elton to get the wrong idea. They would end up hurt. He had to talk to Harry about it. That was something he dreaded. He would try to keep it light, like it was a joke. He felt a little better after that decision but he was still worried and anxious about the talk.

All his worries flew out the window as soon as he stepped into the kitchen and was met by a smiling Harry.
"Welcome home, how was work?"

"Boring and uneventful as always." Louis chuckled. He walked up to the stove and looked in the pans to see what Harry was making. It looked like some chicken casserole of some sort. It smelled amazing.

"You haven't thought about getting a new job?" Harry asked.

"I thought about it today actually, but the job hours are great. I don't want to work late or weekends. I can't do that anymore." Louis replied.

"Of course not, but you should at least check the market. Maybe there's a job out there that's perfect for you." Harry encouraged.

"Yeah, maybe. Can I ask you something?" Louis said.

"Of course." Harry smiled.

"What do you do for a living? How can you stay at home with Darcy?" Louis asked carefully, afraid to offend him.

"I'm an architect but I've taken a year off. I saved money to be able to do so. We had a plan me and my ex. I wanted a kid for years. Ehm, well, that didn't work out as you know. I moved to a smaller apartment to be able to stay at home anyhow and I changed city, so I guess I'll be unemployed eventually. I didn't really think it through. I just had to make a new life for myself, you know?" Harry answered.