When Louis is wiping the white makeup from his face that is part of his clown costume, he notices the purple bruise just above his right eyebrow that now looks way worse than this morning. When his alarm went off at 7am today, he was ripped out of his sleep so violently that shot up, having no idea where he was. Not in his bed, how he noticed a few moments later when he fell over the edge of his sofa.

On his way down, he came to the conclusion that he must have fallen asleep while waiting for his girlfriend to come home the night before. It was just then that his knees collided painfully with the floor and his forehead crashed against a corner of the coffee table.

Louis cursed loudly, lying flat on the ground while pressing a hand against his head. When he finally forced himself to get up, he walked over to the bedroom to see if Jane was there. She was indeed, peacefully sleeping in their bed. Louis breathed out in relief, closing the door behind him again. In the bathroom he stood in front of the mirror, taking in his devastated appearance: dark circles under his eyes from a lack of sleep, a red mark on his forehead as well as a frown that had appeared recently, not to mention the bird's nest of hair on top of his head.

Before he left the apartment, he placed a note on the kitchen table, telling Jane that he was already on his way to work. When he walked to the fairground, he found himself actually looking forward to what the day would bring and also to seeing Harry and Bear again if they decided to show up. What followed afterwards was rather exhausting, although he did quite a good job if Louis could say so.

Somewhen in the afternoon, after unsuccessfully denying his growing disappointment, Harry and the little boy actually came by. However, they only said hi and went straight inside the tent for the next show. Louis tried to ignore the stitch in his heart when he saw the other man turn away after giving him only a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. Louis didn't want to read too much into it, but his anxiety immediately got the better of him.

What if Harry had noticed after yesterday that he didn't want to be friends with Louis anymore? That he didn't even like him anymore? That he was a boring, annoying person he didn't want anything to do with anymore? Maybe - no, probably - he was only here because Bear wanted to see the show again. Normally he shouldn't care. He knew that it was a mistake to even think about letting Harry into his life again.

Louis found himself wishing that the two of them would come out of the tent again with bright smiles on their faces, walking over to him and asking him to spend time with them later. But he knew it wouldn't happen and he was right. When the show came to an end, Harry and Bear were the first ones to exit the tent. The little boy was beaming, and Harry talked to him gently, but he still seemed a little bit off.

Louis waved at them, hoping they would come over. Bear saw him first, freeing his hand from Harry's soft grip and waddling towards Louis. The other man followed after, his gaze drawn to the ground. Louis wanted to know what was wrong. He didn't want to see him like this. Harry was supposed to be happy.

It was not until they were about to leave again that Louis made a decision. The words came out of his mouth so fast that he couldn't even think about it twice and honestly, he didn't want to. He would only change his mind.

"Do you guys want to take a ride on the Ferris wheel later?"

Harry had looked at him surprisedly while Bear started pouting, before looking at Harry. "But I want to go there with Louis again."

Louis then realised that for the little boy, Louis and Mr Clown were not the same person. "Now you made me sad," he told the kid. "But I'll send Louis if you want - only if it's okay," he added, glancing at Harry. The other man looked at him for a moment before smiling softly and giving a shy nod.

When Louis steps out of the trailer, he immediately spots them waiting only a few metres away. They turn around when Louis walks over to them. Harry's face turns into a frown when he stops in front of him. For a moment, Louis is wondering if he maybe forgot to take off the rainbow wig.

"Oh my god, Lou, what have you done there?" Harry asks slightly in shock, reaching out and ghosting a thumb over the bruise on Louis' forehead.

"Umm... unpleasant encounter with the coffee table...?" Louis replies, trying not to flinch away from the touch.

"Wow... you can't be left alone for five minutes, can you?" Harry says, his lips twitching up at the corner.

"It's not my fault that this thing was in my way," Louis replies with a lazy grin.

"Hi, Louis," a tiny voice suddenly says from below, tugging at his sleeve. Louis smiles down at Bear, greeting him as well. The little boy takes Louis' hand in his and Harry's in the other. They start walking towards the Ferris wheel, which is not very hard to miss, considering that it is towering over the fair. Harry is still awfully silent, and it is not until Louis is about to buy tickets for the three of them that he finally speaks up.

"I'm paying, you did it last time," he simply states, ignoring Louis' protests. What is it with them and this paying thing? Afterwards they walk to the end of the queue, waiting patiently for their turn. Louis occasionally glances at Harry without being too obvious. If he wants to tell him or not, he makes it his personal goal for today to find out what's bothering Harry. It probably has to do with him anyway, so he'd really just like to know it right away if Harry is going to dump him. He would understand.

"I can't see," Bear's voice reaches his ears, making him look down at the small kid. He is trapped between several pairs of long legs and since not being very tall himself, Louis totally gets his point. He bends down and picks up the child, placing him in his arms. Bear wraps his small arms around Louis' neck, now looking incredibly happier.

"I can take him," Harry suddenly speaks up, his voice very low and quiet.

"It's alright," Louis replies and turns away a little, although he can still feel Harry staring at him. "He's not that heavy."

They fall silent again and wait for being let into one of the gondolas. When they finally reach the head of the queue, a stuff member opens the capsule for them to step in quickly. Harry goes first, turning around to check if Louis is following. He is, although he struggles a little to see where to step with the child in his arms. He suddenly feels the firm but gentle of Harry's hand on his arm, guiding him into the gondola, but it is removed as soon as he is safely standing inside.

After them, a couple and a mother with her daughter are put in there as well, leaving the small place rather crowded. Louis finds himself pushed into one corner of the gondola, with Harry by his side. The Ferris wheel has already moved further, bringing them high up into the air. The booths on the fairground are getting smaller and the skyline of London comes in sight. Louis shows Bear the Tower Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral, also pointing at Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.

When they reach the highest point, Louis makes the mistake of looking directly downwards. He isn't usually one suffering from hight freight. But the distance to the ground, together with the capsule that is swinging back and forth slightly, isn't really his thing either. He gulps thickly, taking a small step back from the railing. In the corner of his eye, he can see Harry leaning towards him a little.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sure... It's just going down quite a bit there."

Harry doesn't laugh at him and when Louis looks up, all he sees is pure sympathy in Harry's eyes. The sight is still so familiar, almost soothing. Louis would even dare to say he missed it. He knows he shouldn't be thinking like that, but he can't help himself. "Then don't look down."

When their gondola reaches the lowest point of the Ferris wheel again, they quickly step outside, passing an even longer queue than there was before. They walk until they come to less crowded place on the fairground. Louis doesn't really know if it's time for him to leave now or not. He still wants to know why Harry was being so weird - he feels like his mood is slightly better now. He can tell though that Bear is getting tired. Harry will probably take him home anyway.

"I want ice cream," the little boy suddenly informs them. Harry raises an eyebrow at him.

"It's past seven. I don't think that your parents would like you to eat sweets so late."

"Pleaseeee," the kid whines, pouting his lips.

"Okay... But don't tell your mum," Harry sighs. He doesn't seem very competent when it comes to being consequent with children. "I'll be back in a second."

Just as Louis and Bear are having a very interesting conversation about his newest toy fire engine, Louis noticed someone walking towards them. The man stopped a few metres away from them, drawing their attention at him.

"Daddy!" Bear suddenly shouts, running over to the man. Louis only needs a second to recognise Liam again, while the latter doesn't seem to do the same.

"Who... What are you doing with my son - wait, Louis?! Is that you?"

"The one and only," Louis replies, giving Liam a nod.

"Where's Harry? I sent him a thousand text messages that I'd pick up Bear in front of the circus at seven, but he wasn't there."

"Oh... We went on the Ferris wheel, I guess he didn't check his phone," Louis says, not really knowing why he responds so casually.

"Yeah, I guess. Whatever, thank God I found you now before starting a search operation," Liam laughs awkwardly. "Sorry for asking, but what are you doing here? I didn't know that Harry and you are talking again...?"

"Well, I don't know... Yeah we are but... We only saw each other again a few weeks ago and yesterday we accidently met here so..."

"That's... nice, really," Liam says. He seems totally surprised but somehow genuinely happy to hear Louis' story.

"By the way, I'm sorry I rushed out of the club so head over heels that day," Louis suddenly changes the subject, remembering their last encounter.

"It's okay... I didn't mean to say anything... wrong... in front of your girlfriend," he says awkwardly.

Louis feels heat rising to his cheeks and audibly clears his throat. "Yeah, it was really a little... inconvenient in this moment."

"I see. Again, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Listen, I really need to leave with Bear now. Do you think you can tell Harry that I picked him up?"

"Yeah, sure," Louis replies, smiling at him.

Liam nods thankfully, they say their goodbyes and Louis watches them leave. Now that he has seen them together, he can't overlook how similar they look. He doesn't know how he could ever believe that he was Harry's son.

"Where's Bear?" Harry suddenly asks, now standing before Louis with three cornets of ice cream in his hands. He looks confused, with growing panic in his eyes. He probably thinks Louis has lost the child.

"Liam was here, he was looking for you to pick him up. He sent you a couple of messages."

"Oh shit," is all Harry says. "In this case, I'm sorry to break it to you but I won't be able let you go home now. There is no way of me eating all of this alone," he says in all seriousness, holding up the ice cream.

... Is it getting interesting??? I don't knowww

How do you like their characters so far?

Any opinions/wishes/requests/warnings/conspiracies/cake recipes?