"You have no right to look like this" Louis watched his naked boyfriend climb out of the pool on the other side of his indoor pool in the basement. "You should come with a warning".

"But I do warn you every time before I come" Harry had the audacity to throw him the fakest innocent look Louis has ever seen, prancing around dick-first.

"You're such a little minx" Louis sat down on the wide ledge right next to the big steps leading into the pool, leaning onto the little backrest. "You're gonna jump back in, or what?".

"Oh, do you not like ogling my wet body?" Harry walked along the edge of the pool like a diva, showing off his body. "I thought I've seen your dick peak out of the water".

"That's neither here nor there" Louis' hand wandered down to cup his stiff dick, stroking over it lazily while watching his man.

"Wouldn't you rather touch me?" Harry looked pointedly at the spot where Louis' hand was moving up and down under the water's surface. "Wouldn't you prefer my hand on your cock?".

"Why? You're finally gonna come over here?" Louis cocked an eyebrow up at him challengingly, making his movements even more obvious to rile Harry up and eyeing his dick hungrily.

Making an impressively perfect twill into the water, Harry slowly swam over to him, his eyes never leaving his. When he was close enough to touch, Harry placed his hands flat down on the ledge and crawled closer to Louis, who was only watching him with a dry throat, his hand faltering on his dick. Winking at him exaggeratedly, Harry wrapped his hand around Louis' dick and started to stroke him painfully slow, the water smoothening the flow. Thumbing at the tip, Louis let out a guttural moan.

"You want me now?" Harry let go of his dick to sit down on his lap teasingly, just so missing his dick with that move.

"Always, Baby" Louis grabbed onto Harry's waist and crashed their lips together in a wet kiss, prodding his rim with one finger.

"Please, no teasing, Lou. I'm already on the edge" Harry panted into his mouth, rocking down on him clumsily.

"You've been the one teasing me, Baby. Not the other way round. How did you get so worked up?" Louis breached his rim with one finger to give him something to take the edge off.

"Thought about sitting on your dick since I woke up" Harry took his second finger eagerly, rocking down on them desperately.

"Naughty petal" Louis grazed his bundle of nerves teasingly.

"Always" Harry brought their mouths back together, cupping Louis' face roughly, which caused his fingers to slip out of his boyfriend to better hold onto said boyfriend's perfect waist.

Whining into his mouth at the sudden loss of his fingers, Harry deepened their kiss and adjusted himself on his lap, grabbing a hold of Louis' hard dick and sinking down on it in an instant. Both of them moaned out at the feeling and dug their nails into the other. Barely keeping it together, they started to move their bodies in sync. Harry bounced down on his dick and Louis met him halfway with steady thrusts upwards. The insane pleasure of this moment washed over Louis in waves and made his head spin.

"Baby" Louis trailed one hand over Harry's spine up to his head and right into his curls, massaging his scalp lightly.

Looking right into Louis' eyes with glazed-over eyes, Harry came with a loud and broken cry of Louis' name on a hard thrust of Louis' hips, digging his nails into Louis' shoulders. Fucking him through his intense orgasm, Louis got pushed over the edge when Harry deliberately clenched his walls right around Louis' tip. Shooting his cum into his boyfriend, Louis nuzzled his face into Harry's neck until he came down from his high, licking and sucking over a mark he had left with his teeth like some vampire.

"Fuck" Harry groaned out hoarsely, his breathing still a bit irregular. "You are out of this world".

"Me? Sure you're not talking about yourself?" Louis untucked his face from Harry's neck, eyeing the red mark. "Then again, I might be a vampire in disguise. Shit, would you look at that!".

"I can't" Harry stated the obvious with a cute giggle, making Louis roll his eyes at him. "But I can feel it. Marked me up, mh?".

"Just like you did, Darling" Louis traced his fingers over the new marks over his tattoo on his collarbones. "You're obsessed with my collarbones".

"I really am" Harry leaned down to suck on them again.

"Haz, stop" Louis dug his nails into Harry's hips to ground himself when he felt his dick twitch weakly where it was still buried inside his boyfriend. "If you don't stop, we might have to go again".

"Would that be so bad?" Harry latched his sinful lips back onto Louis' collarbones, sucking harshly on them to make him moan.

"We have to be somewhere in an hour and aren't ready in the slightest. We can't j ..." Louis tried to be reasonable but Harry's lips were driving him crazy, shooting another wave of pleasure through his body. "Shit, fuck this. I need you again, Baby".

"I can feel that" Harry wiggled his bum evilly, making them both his at the over-sensitivity. "But not here".

"What do you have in mind?" Louis was holding on for dear life.

Smirking self-satisfied, Harry moved his lips up to Louis' neck to suck another mark into the hot skin. "Let's take a shower".

Without giving Louis time to process what was happening, his boyfriend climbed off of his lap and walked out of the pool, leaving his neglected dick behind. A little bit dazed, Louis gaped openly after him, watching his deliciously naked form walk into the big shower with glass doors. Pinching his dick once to get himself going, Louis climbed out of the pool and joined Harry in the already running shower, where he was met with Harry bending over and steadying himself with his hands on the wet wall.

"You're eager, huh?" Louis closed the shower door behind him, approaching Harry's cum-stained bum, that he was presenting to Louis shamelessly. "Need me again already?".

"Stop taunting me with that sexy husky voice of yours. You want this as desperately as I do, Babe" Harry shoved his bum further towards him, his hole puckering. "Just fuck me, Lou".

Grabbing Harry's bum and spreading his cheeks, Louis knelt down right under the stream of water and licked over his hole, definitely taking Harry by surprise. With the water falling down on him, Louis pushed his tongue past the tight ring of muscles and started to fuck Harry with his tongue while stroking his own dick to get himself hard and ready.

"Lou" Harry cried out sinfully but then stepped away from him and pulled him up on his feet. "Fuck, look at you, Baby".

"Look at you" Louis cupped his face, caressing his cheeks. "You are a forbidden sight, petal".

"So are you, angel" Harry stroked over his waist, letting his hand wander to his throbbing dick. "Fuck, you're so hard".

"All for you" Louis' eyes fluttered close at the pleasurable touch.

"I need you now, Baby" Harry squeezed his dick curtly before dropping it and bending over again but this time he was leaning against the clear glass wall of the shower. "Take me, Lou".

Stroking over Harry's back tenderly, Louis grabbed his waist with one hand and let his fingers dance teasingly over his bum, which made Harry arch his back beautifully. "All mine".

"All yours" Harry moaned out perfectly when Louis pushed back into him, not able to wait any longer to be back inside his man. "I'm all yours, Lou. Please, fuck me. Claim me".

Affectedly, his hips stuttered lightly at his words before Louis started to pound into him, shoving him up against the glass with each hard thrust. Expectedly fast, they both came at the same time only a couple minutes later, Louis shooting into Harry while Harry tainted the clean glass with his cum. After fucking them through their second orgasm of the day, Louis pulled out of his boyfriend and pulled him flush against his chest with his back. Carefully, he moved them back right under the water stream and started to wash away the cum on Harry's body.

"My baby" Louis murmured against his shoulder, pressing gentle kisses into it while washing Harry's body. "My beautiful petal".

Clumsily, Harry turned around in his arms and reached for the shampoo, starting to wash Louis' hair. "I love you, sun".

"And I love you, Petal" Louis smiled at him with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of Harry's fingers on his scalp. "So much".

With one hand still doing Louis' hair, Harry placed his other hand on Louis' face and leaned in to kiss him softly under the flow of the shower water, making Louis' heart flutter in his chest. With uttermost care, Harry washed the rest of Louis' body once he broke away from their love-filled kiss. The whole time, Louis had his eyes closed and simply enjoyed the moment because it felt precious and intimate and special, like everything they did.

When they were done, they turned off the water and got out of the shower together. Wrapped up in their bathrobes, they made their upstairs into their bedroom to get dressed for their family dinner at Bella's and Roy's place. All this sex had taken away his worries and had turned his brain into goo, making Louis unable to get anxious, which was definitely a good thing. Feeling like he was walking on clouds, Louis put on his chosen clothes and went back downstairs to fetch Alexa because she would come with them. Instead of finding his dog, Louis was met with Coco, who directly protested and made moves to jump into his arms. Smiling fondly at her, Louis picked her up and cuddled her into his chest while calling out for Alexa, who came running in from the garden.

"Do you have everything?" Harry came over to him with the two cakes safely secured in a box, eyeing Louis with Coco.

"I do. Just have to make Coco let me go" Louis tried to put her down but she meowed in protest and dug her claws into him. "I don't think she wants me to go without her. What now?".

"Wait, let me try" Harry put the cake box down and reached out for Coco, trying to literally rip her away from Louis but she wouldn't budge. "It's so unfair that she loves you more than me".

"She's your demon cat, Baby" Louis chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. "She's a mirror of your obsession with me".

"No, she's not" Harry huffed sulkily like the big baby he was, picking up the cakebox again. "If she refuses to let go, we just have to take her with us. She knows my mum's house, so it won't be a problem. God, she's such a stubborn cat".

"I wonder why" Louis snickered amusedly while Coco got already comfortable in his arms.

"That's your influence. Yours alone. Before you, she hated every single person on this earth except for me and now look at her" Harry tried to look mad but failed miserably, so he put the leash on Alexa and opened a portal for them. "Let's go, you diva".

"I hope you mean the cat" Louis side-eyed his pouting boyfriend, Coco climbing onto his shoulder like a cliché witch cat.

"Course" Harry mumbled childishly before he walked through the white portal, Louis following suit and stepping right into an unknown room with Coco perched on his shoulder. "Come on. Follow me. My mum's probably in the living room".

Following Harry out of the closet-like room, he was directly met with Bella greeting them good-spiritedly. "Boys, I'm so glad you could make it. Come here".

"Of course, we wouldn't miss it, Mum" Harry hugged his Mum as good as possible with the cake box still in his hand and Alexa tugging on her leash, wanting to greet Bella as well.

"Aw, little darling, hi" Bella crouched down to pet Alexa happily, whose tail wouldn't stop wagging like crazy. "I missed you".

"She missed you, too" Louis felt his heart expand at the sight of them together. They were too adorable.

"Louis" Bella smiled up at him with so much warmth in her eyes, standing back up to hug him but then noticing Coco on his left shoulder. "And hello Coco. What are you doing there?".

"She wouldn't let me leave without her, so she had to come with us" Louis let her know casually, earning a shocked expression from her that unsettled Louis the tiniest bit even though he was used to people pointing out how odd Coco was behaving towards him by now. Sometimes it still worried him. "I hope that's okay with you. We couldn't ask beforehand".

"Of course, that's okay, Darling" Bella patted his cheek, which earned her a glare from Coco. "Please, get comfortable. You're the first to arrive and Roy's still in the kitchen".

"Does he need any help?" Harry asked immediately.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. He's the cook" Bella grinned at him sheepishly and Louis could relate to her words too well.

"I'm gonna check on him real quick" Harry unleashed Alexa and disappeared into the kitchen with the cake box.

"Sit down, Louis" Bella motioned towards one of the sofas in the middle of the spacey living room.

"In a moment. I just know my mum's gonna be here in a second" Louis kept glancing over at the hallway where he could spot the front door. "I'm surprised she isn't already".

"Always early?" Bella guessed rightly.

"Always" Louis chuckled right as someone rang the bell. "And there she is. Like expected".

"Wanna let her in?" Bella put her head to the side smilingly.

"Of course" Louis rushed over to the door and opened it with shaking hands, now nervous again. "Hi, Mum".

"Buttercup, hi" Louis' mother Jasmine stepped into the house, immediately noticing Coco on his shoulder. "Who's that?".

"That is Coco. She belongs to Harry but she won't leave my side today" Louis explained to her why he was parading around a cat on his shoulder like some lunatic. "But careful, she doesn't like other people and might hiss at you when you get too close".

"Then I'm gonna hug you later. I don't wanna upset her" Jasmine just accepted that as if it were normal. "Shall we?".

"Course. Follow me" Louis led her into the living room. "Mum, I know you technically already met once but this is Bella, Harry's wonderful mum".

"Oh, hush" Bella waved him off with red cheeks. "It's a pleasure to officially meet you. I hope you found it okay".

"The pleasure is mine" Jasmine shook Bella's hand smilingly.

"Please, get comfortable while we wait on the rest" Bella also motioned for her to sit down, which she gladly did. "Do you want anything to drink?".

"Water would be nice" Jasmine smiled warmly at Bella.

"Just one second" Bella also disappeared into the kitchen.

"So?" Louis sat down next to his mother, his leg bouncing.

"I kinda expected the house to look more witchy" Jasmine said something he didn't expect, making him snort out a laugh. "But other than that".

"I told you this is not Harry Potter" Louis pinched her arm. "And it does look more witchy in their special rooms where they store their magic spices and shit. Or their portal room".

"Portal room?" Jasmine blinked at him flabbergasted. "You mean a room just for portals?".

"Yeah, that's how we got here" Louis confirmed simply, knowing this was all still new territory for his mother. "It's just an almost empty room where they portalize to when they don't come over like normal people. It prevents 'humans' from getting a heart attack when they just show up out of nowhere".

"That's very thoughtful" Jasmine's mind was definitely rattling.

"Look at your face" Louis couldn't help but laugh at her twisted expression. "It sounds scarier than it is".

"I take your word for that. After all, you already travelled with a portal" Jasmine's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Never thought I'd ever say that, to be honest".

"Me neither" Louis appreciated her effort massively, jumping up from the sofa when the bell rang again. "I go".

Opening the door a second time, Louis was met with all of his four sisters at once, all of them noticing Coco in a heartbeat. Before he could even start to explain, Maria and Paul showed up behind his sisters with Bethany, who immediately ran into his arms without caring about Coco. Thankfully, Coco jumped off of his shoulder to let Bethany hug him but she stayed close to him. All together, they made their way into the living room, where Bella and Jasmine were chatting animatedly. Seeing them come in, hugs were exchanged and introductions were made, Harry and Roy joining their group right in time to have one big introduction.

Just when they were done, sparkles appeared in the air and a moment later, Abby and Logan stood in the middle of the room.

"Hi, everyone. I'm Abby, Harry's sister and this is my boyfriend Logan" Abby introduced herself as if she didn't just appear out of nowhere like they had agreed not to do today. "What?".

"You are insufferable" Harry shook his head at his sister.

"That was so cool" Emily gasped in excitement. "Can you show up anywhere just like that?".

"Technically, yes but it's easier when you know the place by heart and it normally helps not startling people" Abby responded almost a bit apologetic. "I totally forgot that I wasn't supposed to do that".

"It's okay. That was sick" Emily marvelled in wonder.

"Thanks" Abby grinned proudly.

"Well, now that we're all here. Who wants some cake?" Roy clapped into his hands to get everyone's attention, which he got because he literally startled everyone with that loud sound.

"Depends on who made it" Luna noted teasingly, nudging Louis' side to make sure he understood that she was mocking him.

"Excuse you! The cake I made turned out great, right Haz?" Louis sought validation from his boyfriend, not really knowing if his lemon drizzle cake actually had turned out alright.

"Right, it did turn out great" Harry confirmed quickly, holding back a smirk visibly. "He made it all by himself. He learned".

"Now you're making me sound like a toddler" Louis huffed poutily and immediately Coco jumped back into his arms. "See? Coco doesn't like that either".

"Traitor cat" Harry grumbled offended.

"Since when do you have a cat?" Paul asked him perplexed.

"I don't. Coco is Harry's demon cat" Louis stared his boyfriend down while securing Coco in his arms.

"She is not a demon cat!" Harry was full-on pouting now.

"You know that she is. Stop denying it" Louis enjoyed this a little too much. "You're just miffed that she prefers me".

"I'm not" Harry crossed his arms over his chest with everyone around them just watching their exchange in amusement.

"You are" Louis sing-songed cheekily, walking past him with Coco not looking at Harry. "Now stop sulking. We want cake".

Together with his sulking boyfriend and his parents, they took out plates and cutlery, carrying it and the three different cakes over into the living room, where the others were waiting for them.

"Okay, who made which cake? I don't wanna die" Sophia eyed the different cakes warily.

"Funny" Louis glared at her darkly.

"Mine is the cheesecake, my dad made the strawberry one but it's with soy, so don't eat it, Lou" Harry pointed at the different cake plates, throwing him a caring look that made his cheeks heat up stupidly and it didn't go unnoticed by his sisters. "And this one is from Louis. It's a lemon drizzle cake and it's not poisonous".

"How can you be so sure? You said he made it all by himself. Did you supervise him?" Stella asked him sceptically.

"I didn't but I taught him a few things by now. You won't die, I promise, Stella" Harry was biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing, which earned him a pinch to the thigh.

"At least we have three witches here to save us if it goes wrong" Stella shrugged and cut Louis' cake, earning a round of giggles.

"I can't stand you" Louis grumbled insulted.

"I'm sure it tastes lovely" his mother took a piece of his lemon cake and sent her daughters admonishing looks, which ended in all of them trying Louis' cake. "Darling, this is delicious".

"Huh, it really is" Sophia admitted in pure shock. "Damn, your boy really taught you something. Good thing he's a baker".

"I'm gonna kill you in your sleep" Louis felt the tips of his ears heating up in embarrassment. "You better watch out".

"I'd like to see you try" Sophia just winked at him unimpressed.

"I like you" Abby grinned at Sophia and Louis knew that this was the end of any peace he and Harry could've had.

"Likewise".

Somehow they managed to stir the conversation into a totally different direction after this. Their families chatted about their respective jobs while Louis and Harry mainly just listened to them talk. Bella told Louis' sisters how they had met in the hospital because she was a nurse and through this, Emily connected with her due to being a midwife and having worked at the hospital as well. That led them to talk about Jasmine's work in the nursery home and Luna's job as a primary school teacher. Taking a full one-eighty, Roy let them in on his everyday life as an electrician and afterwards asked Logan how his new clothing line was coming along, which led to Louis' sisters asking millions of eager questions about his and Abby's jobs in the fashion industry.

"And you're Louis' housekeeper? Did I get that right?" Logan asked Maria a bit hesitant. "I'm trying to piece this all together".

"No worries, Dear" Maria smiled understandingly at him. "And yes, I am Louis' housekeeper".

"But she's more of a very dear friend, to be honest" Louis piped in now, sharing a meaningful look with Maria. "She's been cleaning my mess for so long that I could never let her go".

"Not without having to kill me, I'm afraid. I know too much" Maria joked teasingly but she was also right in some way. Maria had seen him at his lowest and knew way too much about the entire industry. If she were a different kind of person, she could ruin everyone in a heartbeat but Louis knew she was too kind for that.

"Funnily enough, I've never seen you work at the house though" Harry threw in casually, gaining everyone's attention.

"Not everyone works at the crack of dawn, dear" Maria winked at him exaggeratedly, making everyone laugh. "But to be fair, I reduced a lot of my work over the past couple of months. Louis doesn't really need me anymore. He's just too nice to fire me".

"That is so not true" Louis disagreed immediately. "My mess did not change and I still need you. I always will, I'm afraid".

"You have a boyfriend to clean after you though" Abby clicked with her tongue, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"A boyfriend who works quite a lot and is not my cleaning lady" Louis shot back without thinking his words through, making his boyfriend blush and Maria raise an eyebrow at him. "You know what I mean. He's not obliged to clean after me".

"I must say brother, your boyfriend is absolutely adorable" Abby cooed exaggeratedly, making him turn crimson now.

"Unlike you" Harry stared her down like only a sibling could.

"Kids, give it a rest" Bella rolled her eyes at their antics. "You're unbelievable. Cut the dramatics, will ya?".

"It's okay. Mine aren't any better, believe me," Jasmine told her with an amused smile on her face.

"Excuse me?!" all five of them exclaimed at the same time.

"See? All over-dramatic as hell" Jasmine chuckled delightedly. "Then again, they were all in the drama club at one point, so I should have intervened earlier. Now it's too late".

"You were in the drama club?" Harry asked him stunned, so Louis only nodded sheepishly. "You never told me that".

"Isn't it obvious?" Emily pointed at him dumbly as if that would do anything to strengthen her sarcastic question.

"No?" Harry didn't let her irritate him, only looking at Louis now. "I know you were on two football teams but you never said anything about other clubs or teams. That is so fascinating".

"It was only for a short time. It's how Aria and I became this close and I didn't think it was worth mentioning. I never played a big role or anything" Louis thought back to his time in the drama club, to how he and Aria had bonded over something else than Archie.

"Still".

"Harry was in the choir" Abby revealed something to him that he didn't know before. "For most of his school time".

"You were?" Louis stared at his boyfriend in disbelief, who only nodded meekly with bright red cheeks. "How come I've never heard you sing before? Not even the shower or something?".

"Well ..." Harry trailed off, his cheeks turning even redder, which made Louis realise where his thoughts were going. Of course, he couldn't have heard him sing in the shower before because they mainly took showers together by now. "Um ...".

"Oh, please, no. Spare me" Abby caught on to what was going on. "There are children around, brother!".

"As if you care" Harry rolled his eyes at her but sank further down in his chair when the parents all looked at him.

"Is anyone still hungry?" Roy asked everyone at the table and only got shaking heads as responses. "Abby, you're gonna help me clear the table. Come on".

"Why me?" Abby whined like a literal child but obeyed.

"You know why" Roy was entirely unimpressed.

"You need two more hands?" Paul offered his help, having been mostly silent until now just like Louis has always known him.

"I won't deny free help" Roy accepted his offer gratefully.

Standing up from the table, they all kind of spread out. Emily and Luna went into the magic storage room with Bella to take a look at everything while Louis sat down on the couch with his mother, Logan and Maria, having a perfect view of Harry playing with Bethany while Stella was braiding his hair because she had talked him into it for practise purposes. That little video she was filming with her phone of Harry's beautiful hair would end up on her Instagram account later to gain more followers.

While Logan and Maria were chatting, Louis was only watching his boyfriend with Bethany, unlocking an entirely new longing in his chest that he tried to bury as fast as it came. But apparently, it was visible on his face because he could feel his mother eyeing him closely. Something was definitely written all over his face and it got worse with each new giggle that Harry coaxed out of Bethany so easily. It made his heart feel too big for his chest.

"Louis?" his mother asked carefully, touching his shoulder and tearing him out of his frozen trance-like state.

"I wanna marry him" Louis blurted out stupidly, paling as soon as the words had left his mouth. Now all three of them were gaping at him in sheer shock. "Um ... Pretend you didn't hear that, yeah?".

"Louis ...".

"I know how crazy that sounds, okay?" Louis didn't let his mum speak, his pulse starting to race now. "I know we haven't been together for that long but just look at him!".

"He's really good with Bethany" Maria pointed out helplessly.

"He is. He loves kids, always wanted his own" Louis sighed out dreamily, knowing he must sound like a lunatic. "I ... I'm not saying that ... He's ... It's how I feel, okay? When I look at him, all I see is my future. And I know wanting to marry him is mad-shit crazy so soon and I know he's been married before and probably doesn't even want to get married again but it's how I feel. I am that sure about him; about us. I love him".

After a beat of silence in which Louis noticed Bella standing by the sofa now and having heard everything, his mother cupped his face tenderly. "Buttercup, that is beautiful".

"You think so?" Louis' throat was clogging up now.

"I ...".

"It's truly beautiful, Louis" Bella spoke up emotionally, sitting down on his other side now. "I couldn't be happier that my son has you by his side now. You're a gift and make him so happy".

Not knowing how to respond, Louis just fish-mouthed at her. "...".

"And he might have been married before but it was different with them, Louis" Bella continued with her attempt at giving him a heart attack. "I can see it so clearly. You're so much more. It's different with you. He is different with you. And it's a very good thing".

"Yeah?" Louis breathed out totally stunned.

"Mh" Bella hummed confirmingly.

"See, Darling? You're not crazy for feeling this way" his mother squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Sounds like it's mutual".

"Maybe" Louis mused out loud unsurely. "I'm gonna risk asking him one day, no matter what. And if he says no because he really doesn't want to get married again, then that's fine. We don't need to but I will still ask him because he deserves to be asked".

"Of course, you will" Maria mumbled quietly, offering him a smile.

"As much as he loves you, he will appreciate it" Logan noted encouragingly, soothing his stressed out heart. "I'm sure of it".

"He will" Bella sounded so sure with just two simple words.

Clearing his throat, Louis stood up from the couch abruptly. "I ... um ... I'm gonna join him and Bethany for a moment, yeah?".

"Do that, Love" his mother fleetingly patted his arm before he went over to his boyfriend and his god-daughter.

"Hey, can I join you?" Louis crouched down to be eye-level with Bethany, who immediately lit up at seeing his face.

"Yes, Loulou, you can" Bethany pulled him down into a sitting position, making Harry laugh cutely.

"Stop moving" Stella scolded him fondly. "I swear, you're the worst client I ever had".

"Normally your clients don't entertain children while getting their hair done, dearest sister" Louis pointed out the obvious just to spit her, throwing her a nasty look.

"I miss single you. Loved-up you is disgustingly protective" she rolled her eyes but continued to braid Harry's hair. "Couples".

"You'll understand when you're older," Louis and Harry said literally at the same time, shocking them at first but making them break out into belly-aching giggles right after.

"I give up" Stella huffed out frustratedly, leaving them be and joining her sisters.

"No, my hair" Harry pouted adorably.

"How about I braid your hair while you entertain the little miss?" Louis offered him hopelessly endeared.

"You can do that?" Harry made big eyes at him.

"Please" Louis rolled his eyes showily, crawling behind Harry's back to sit down more comfortably. "What do you think where that little monster learned all of this? Who do you think taught her?".

"You're the best brother ever" Harry marvelled awestruck.

"I try" Louis shrugged before getting to work, braiding Harry's shoulder-long hair carefully. "Most of the time, they don't deserve it but I love them anyway, for some reason".

"I guess Abby would say the same about me," Harry thought out loud, helping Bethany with her puzzle.

"You got that right, brother" Abby came back into the room with her father and Paul. "What exactly would I say about you?".

Suppressing his emerging bubbling laughter, Louis could literally feel Harry groan in despair. "Insufferable".

"What did I do again?" Abby walked over to them, flicking Louis' ear playfully. "Tell me why my brother is groaning this time".

Before he could answer, Coco jumped up from her spot by the window and hissed at Abby for flicking his ear, gaining everyone's attention yet again with her actions. That made Harry drop the puzzle piece and turn around to face his sister. "Did you just touch Louis? Coco doesn't like that and me neither. Bugger off".

Frozen to her spot for a moment, Abby just blinked down at them before shaking herself out of it. "Jeez, fine. Have fun".

"Good job, Baby" Louis used his baby voice on Coco again, petting her head affectionately. "You tell her".

"For a moment, I thought you were talking to me but no, you're talking to my cat again" Harry puckered his lips up in a showy pout, resembling a whiny baby. "I'm getting kinda jealous".

"Then tell your demon cat to stop being cute" Louis ignored his whining and just kept petting Coco to rub it in. "She's obsessed with me. Tell her to back off if you think you can".

"If I do that, she's seriously gonna bite me and I know it. So, no. No need" Harry eyed his cat warily, making him laugh for real now. "Ey, this isn't funny. You stole my cat. My spirit animal".

"Which reminds me, where is Alexa at?" Louis looked around in search of his dog, not having seen her for a while.

"She's sleeping behind the curtain" Bethany pointed towards the window where Coco had been sleeping earlier. "Was tired".

"From being cute all day, I presume" Louis wasn't sure why he was even surprised. Of course, she was sleeping soundly.

After that little stubborn fit from his boyfriend, the conversations in the room went on for a little while longer before everyone got ready to go home. Before saying goodbye to Harry's parents, he explained to his family how the portals worked.

"I just have to think about my place?" Jasmine sounded hesitant.

"Yes, that's all you have to do. And don't worry. Even if your mind gets distracted for a moment, it won't cause any trouble" Louis assured her comfortingly. "I promise".

"Okay, if you say so" Jasmine and his sisters got ready to use the portals to get home because it was the quicker way and his sisters were way too curious to see how it worked.

One after the other said goodbye to each other before crossing the portal and going home. When his family was gone, Louis said goodbye to Maria, Paul and Bethany, who got portalized home next. Lastly, Harry's family sent them off with hugs and pats on the back. With Coco safely in his arm and Alexa on her leash, they crossed the portal and walked right into their bedroom.

"Home sweet home" Louis stretched his muscles, hearing some parts crack in his back. "I'm gonna let Alexa out for a minute".

"Okay," Harry said absent-mindedly, seeming a bit distant.

Brushing him off for a moment, Louis went downstairs with Alexa and opened the door for her, watching her run around the garden. With Coco hot on his heels, Louis walked into the kitchen to check what they could make for dinner after their family 'dinner' has literally only been a prolonged tea time. Coming back out of the kitchen with no idea whatsoever, Louis called Alexa back in and went back upstairs, some worries creeping into his mind because Harry had seemed almost withdrawn out of nowhere and Louis hoped it was nothing too serious.

Entering his bedroom, Louis found Harry on the bed, sitting cross-legged and looking thoughtful. Closing the door quietly behind him, Louis approached the bed and sat down right in front of him. "What are you thinking about, Love?".

Looking up at him with loaded eyes, Harry started playing with the fingers of his right hand. "Phil. Our marriage".

"Oh".

Those three words sent an ice-cold shiver down his spine, his heart stopping in his chest and sinking to the floor. The sound of Harry's voice didn't make it easy to read what exactly Harry was feeling right now and that sent his mind into overdrive. Has he really misread their entire relationship this badly? Was Harry really still thinking about his ex-husband? And why was he telling him this now? What did the not-dinner change? His feelings?

"Not like that, Sun" Harry grabbed his hand for real now and almost sounded a bit panicked suddenly, studying his fallen face. "After what I've felt during 'dinner', I thought back to how I felt back then. I thought back to how very different everything was. How differently my family interacted with him. How different I felt seeing them together compared to seeing them be with you. And I just ... I know you probably don't wanna hear about this because it's very weird to even mention this but I need you to know that I've never felt like this before. I've never loved someone as much as I love you and I've been bloody married. How mad is that?! But it's the truth. I've never been so in love".

That lovely confession was definitely not what Louis had been expecting to follow his mention of the past but it made his heart stutter in his chest and his breath pick up, coming out shallow now and making it hard for him to breathe. "Haz, I ...".

"When it comes to you; to us; I just feel like we wouldn't even need to get bloody married to immortalize our love, even though I'd like to marry you anyway" Harry continued to blow his mind with his words, rendering him completely speechless. "We don't need it because we keep choosing each other every day and I know I will never not choose you, Lou. I will never stop loving you and don't feel like we need to prove it to anyone".

With his jaw on the floor, Louis could only stare at him in sheer disbelief, not mentally able to wrap his head around what was happening right now. The only thing going through his head was that Harry had thought about them getting married and didn't think it was necessary because they wouldn't need it. How was this his life? How was he this lucky?

"And I know it hasn't even been that long but I'm just sure about you, sure about us. I'm absolutely certain and I would marry you anyway if you'd want to" Harry locked eyes with him, both of their eyes glassy by now and his voice wobbly.

"You would?" Louis sniffled emotionally, feeling his throat closing up with too many untamed emotions. He couldn't believe it.

"You're it for me, Sun. My forever love" Harry reached out to wipe away his happy tears. "I'd say yes every day, Lou".

"Me too, Haz" Louis croaked out wetly and threw himself at his stunning boyfriend, making them fall down into the sheets with Harry on his back and Louis safely wrapped up in his arms on top of him. "Me too".

Caressing his back and putting their foreheads together, Harry gazed deeply into his teary eyes. "One day then".

"One day" Louis connected their lips in an emotion-filled kiss, more crying in joy than actually kissing. Everything just felt so right at this moment in time and he just knew they would make it, no matter what life's gonna bring for them. "One day I'm gonna ask you if you're not asking me first, even though I also don't think we need to prove anything to anyone. I'll choose you forever, Petal. I'm just as certain".

"I love you, Lou" Harry cried into another kiss smilingly.

Cupping his face, Louis let his eyes wander over the face of the love of his life and only felt pure happiness. "And I love you, Haz".