Once in a lifetime

Chapter 50 Babysitting

Luca Tomlinson scared the shit out of them when he decided to show up in the middle of the night, one week before due date. Lou called them, knowing they would be together because Zayn had started sleeping often at Harry's. To hell went all those pre-labor sessions Lou had assisted, he was properly freaked out and poor Ele had to deal with contractions and a very squealy husband. Harry got up, Zayn found pjs for both and they broke their own record as the fastest time they had gotten ready to leave the apartment. Harry ordered Lou to stand still, hold his wife's hand and that he would call a cab. He was in no condition to drive. For once, Lou listened to him, proving how messed up his state of mind was. Harry called them the cab and called Lou right back. He had been reading a lot about this specific moment, fantasizing of him and Zayn living it. He snorted, despite himself, thinking Zayn would probably be Lou 2.0. Ele was calmed, considering, and thanked him profusely for taking control of it all.

Harry couched Lou to grab the baby's bag they had ready, and when he left to get it, Harry asked Ele the time between contractions. She snickered, impressed he knew so much.

"You'll be wonderful at this when it's your turn, sweety."

"Well, someone must be prepared. I bet Zayn s' gonna be just like Lou. I feel it in my bones." He said, causing Ele to laugh some more and earning a pinch in the nipple from Zayn, who smiled.

"I ain't. I'll be cool, m' sure."

"Yes, baby." Harry said, rolling his eyes. He giggled when he heard Zayn mutter "Smartass."

Luca Tomlinson weighted the healthy amount of 3.5 kilograms and measured his solid 52 centimeters. Zayn and Harry had to wait few hours before Lou came out to tell them Luca was born and that he and Ele were fine. They took Luca to do all check-ups and Ele was asleep. Harry hugged him and they became a trio of overly emotional men, crying and laughing at the same time.

When Harry and Zayn were giving green light to visit Ele and meet their godson, the crying continued in the room. He was a beautiful baby, and when it was Zayn's turn to hold him, he counted all his little fingers, five on each limb. He started talking in urdu, without even realising. He just noticed when Lou joked about him teaching his new-born kid a foreign language so they would have a secret code. Harry, though, was unable to explain what he felt when he saw Zayn holding a baby. Such scene made his insides twirl. He wanted that. He wanted a mini them, someone of their own.

The first month after Luca was home, Lou and Ele looked like zombies. Zayn felt sorry for them, as they looked like they would fall asleep any minute. They visited Luca every other day, completely smitten with him. Zayn wanted to offer to babysit so they could rest, but he wasn't sure how to say it.

"We can take him to my place for the weekend, y'know?" Harry started, as if he could read Zayn's mind. Maybe he could. Or maybe he wanted to have Luca for them alone for the whole weekend, like Zayn.

"Yeah, like, we can take him to our place, well, Harry's place..."

"Our place is fine." Harry interrupted him, drunk with love. Zayn smiled, equally drunk.

"To our place, so you guys can like, sleep and shag for a couple of days. We got this; I have two younger sisters, yeah? You can do the, uh, milk thing and we can freeze it." He ended, eyeing Ele.

"You guys don't have to do this, seriously." She said, almost as asleep as her husband.

"S' not a problem, dear. We really want to. Plus, you guys need proper rest, look like talking mummies."

"Harreh, that's rude, babe." Zayn snorted.

"Wot? S' true. They look like walking and talking mummies, look at'em."