Levirate [Haniaal/Zarry]

Chapter 30

I have a family already Harry. I am not planning to have another one

Since their so called marriage, Zayn has never been upfront with Harry in terms of what his plans are with them and after the comment he made, Harry is not sure how to feel. It is sort of overwhelming to think that maybe Zayn might be expecting him to be his husband at some point. Harry has not allowed himself to ever consider living his life with another man after Daniaal and even if he would, having sex with two brothers would be super weird. Not that he wants to have sex with Zayn though. In fact he has not even thought about that ever since meeting him...Well up until a second ago he had not.

 "Mom"

Anne hums groggily as she is awoken by Harry nudging her and calling out for her.  Harry realises then that he had acted on impulse. Maybe he is not that ready to be discussing this but seeing that Anne is already awake, he might as well just get it over with. "Did you hear what Zayn said about having a family last night?"

"Yeah I did baby. What about it? Is that why you have interrupted my beauty sleep?"

"Really mom?! What will you do with all that beauty after you accumulate it?"

"I might just get myself a new family like Zayn, you might never know" she does an act of fluffing up her hair and opens her eyes up slightly to make them look bigger while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Harry laughs at her ridiculousness and Anne joins him in laughing. Once they are both calmer, Harry turns to her and asks if she thinks he should maybe address the implications of what he said with Zayn because they never really got into the discussion and maybe they might not be on the same level in terms what this marriage means for them.

"Communication is always key in any relationship, whether be it sexual or not". Harry blushes at that and hides his face. Anne kicks him softly under the blankets. "Get your mind out of the gutter and listen to this wise old lady young man"

"Mom stop. This is serious. And you could used a different word than that. I might be old and a parent already but that does not mean that I am ready to discuss such topics with you"

"What's the other word for a sexual relationship then?"

"Romantic for one"

"Fine. Anyway you are digressing. Now as I was saying, communication is key. He might have been dropping a clue to see where you are in terms of the future or he could be genuinely interested in you. You are such a handsome man after all, all thanks to me. There are countless scenarios that we both can come up with to explain what he said but only he knows what he meant"

"But how do I ask him now? Is it not going to be awkward? I don't want him to think that I am extending an invitation for him to explore this"

"I think that asking him outright last night was a perfect opportunity but seeing that you let that one pass maybe you can ask him when the topic comes up again. Okay?" Harry hums and turns to look up at the ceiling with a deep sigh. With everything going on right now, he definitely did not need this load to be added. Azad wakes up with whimpering sounds and Akilah follows shortly with a frustrated cry and the mother and son share a look before they climb out of bed and each grabs one child. 

***

Anne and Gemma's leave days are almost over and Harry has started moping around the house. He is moody and clingy and a lot more uncertain about things unlike how sure he was when he first got home. Anne has assured him countless times that he is ready and able to raise the twins but he does not seem convinced. Even though he never expressed it, Harry took the parenting steps confident that whenever he does trip, Anne will be there to assist. It was an unspoken promise between them. Him and Zayn are not horrible at parenting but he still feels like there is a lot more that they might need help with. The babies are only three weeks old and there are still a lot of complications that might occur. Since he gave birth, his mind has been listing off a lot of things that might go wrong and Google has not helped at all in alleviating his fears. 

With only a week left, Anne and Gemma spend as much time with the babies as they can and also spend more time out of the house in order to let Harry find his confidence gently. Azad and Akilah benefit more from the time that their grandma and aunt spend at the mall because they bring home countless toys and clothing while Harry gets frustrated more and more by little things that should not necessarily annoy him. The bed in his room is suddenly bigger since Anne started sleeping with Gemma. The feeding in the middle of the night. Azad's whining. Every negative feeling he has feels exaggerated.

The day that his mom and sister leave is not any better on him. Zayn has mentioned that he is not allowed to leave the house with the babies for the first three months of their life according to their customs and thus he cannot accompany them to the train station. He is emotional when he says his goodbyes and Azad joins the crying with his loud cry. Harry has a moment of hesitation when he reaches for Azad because what if he cannot sooth him or what if he is sick. Anne gently pats his shoulder sensing his hesitation and assures him that she is only a phone call away and she will try visit on her weekends off. 

Harry seems calmer when Zayn gets back from dropping off Anne and Gemma. He is reading on his iPad with the twins laying on his sides and Hayley laying by his feet. He raises his head a bit as soon as Zayn walks into his room and informs him that the trip to the train station went well. The first few days without Anne are bumpy and Harry has called Anne countless times and consulted the notebook that Anne left for him a lot more. Zayn is always on the sidelines, offering words of encouragement and assisting with Akilah as much as Harry lets him. The bond between the two seems to be strengthening and that is one less load for Harry.

Trisha has called to check up on them and has indicated that she is coming in a week to assist with the babies. Harry and Zayn spend the rest of the week preparing for Trisha's arrival and learning the ropes of parenting by themselves. They have hired a cleaning company at the insistence of Zayn to ensure the house is sparkling and ensuring all the bed sheets and blankets are clean and smelling fresh. Zayn has tried as much as he can to explain the cultural differences and what Harry should expect from Trisha. He is glad that the Maliks did not insist on him moving to Bradford because as he understood from Zayn, it is the duty of the mother-in-law to take care of the first borns of the family. But her coming here is not easing his uneasiness at all. With all that Zayn has said and done in preparation, Harry is already dreading her arrival