Single Father [L.S]

six

Louis looked at him incredulously and it was only once the young father was close to him that Niall noticed his dark circles eyes poorly camouflaged by a concealer and the discreet trembling of his hands. Louis bit his lower lip nervously. No one had ever interrupted him during his shift... unless. No, Louis didn't want to get his hopes up. But he had been waiting for the culinary inspectors to visit for several months now. If he did well, he could get his restaurant's first star. So maybe...

-Go ahead," Niall urged him.

Louis rushed toward the room, trying to calm the mixture of apprehension and curiosity that was rising in him. He even stopped on the way to check his reflection in one of the restaurant's large mirrors and hastily combed his hair. However, when he arrived at the bar of the Gourmet Lounge, he found only a man with his back to him who, considering his XXL sweater and his jeans, could clearly not be the high gastronomy inspector Louis was waiting for. He instinctively searched the room with his eyes but the movement of Niall's chin forced him to face the evidence. No stars for today... And when the man turned around, he almost choked on his saliva. His babysitter, the person who had implied that he wasn't a good enough father. He had Harry Styles in front of him, wearing a small, awkward smile.

-Hello," Harry began, running his hand through his hair in a gesture that showed his discomfort.

-Hey, you asked to see me? Louis asked, equally embarrassed by the situation.

He didn't know exactly why, but the anger he had been holding in after being insulted by Harry had faded away and been replaced by relief. Louis was the kind of person who never held a grudge against those who had hurt him. He believed that he should always communicate and that he should put his feelings aside to understand the point of view of the person who had criticized him. So, he felt happy to be able to explain himself and also to apologize to Harry.

-Yes, I'm sorry to bother you while you're working. Actually, I spoke with Selena... Well, no. It wasn't Selena who forced me to come. It was me. Anyway, I thought about it and I acted very immaturely last time. I was really upset, it wasn't really against you, it's just that I have exams soon. So I was pretty stressed out. I mean, I'm still pretty stressed out. I'm getting lost.

-Hey...Harry, calm down.

Without even realizing it, he had just called the young man by his first name.

-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you what I said that night. I'm sorry, it's not like me.

-You are not the only one who is wrong in this story. It's true that right now I spend more time in restaurants than with my kids. And it wasn't cool of me to ask you to watch them so late when you probably had other things to do.

Harry straightened up immediately, meeting Louis' eyes. As if in disbelief, as if he didn't expect Louis to admit he was wrong. And strangely, the sight made the father mentally chuckle. Harry looked like a lost little puppy.

-I beg your pardon? Harry stammered. What are you...? You don't have to say that, I'm the one who behaved badly to you and...

He didn't have time to finish his sentence when Louis interrupted him by putting his hand on his shoulder. Harry's green eyes rested on the father's reassuring face

-And that was no reason for me to behave badly to you. We both have our faults. So we're even?

Harry regained enough confidence to smile back at Louis.

-We're even.

-So Harry, I'll do it better this time. Do you want to be my baby sitter again with proper hours this time?