“Harry’s eyes were trained on one thing, and one thing only.”
“What is that?” he says, eyes wary as he takes in what’s in Louis’ arms.
“It’s a fennec fox,” Louis says with a grin. If Harry didn’t know him as well as he does, he’d probably have missed the way Louis’ grin is just slightly tense, as though he knows what he’s done is testing Harry’s limits.
“A fox,” Harry repeats, tone flat.
“A fennec fox,” Louis corrects, his grin turning slightly more strained. He holds the animal out towards Harry as though showing off a price.
“A fox, Louis,” Harry says, voice hitching. He runs his hand through his hair in frustration. Bloody hell, he thinks, this is what he gets for marrying a vet. “A bloody fox. Dogs and cats we said, remember?”
“But--” Louis starts, only to be interrupted.
“’Harry, love’, you said,” Harry continues exasperatedly, “’We’ll just shelter cats and dogs until someone nice is ready to adopt them’, you said. ‘Leave the exotic animals to Brian’, you said”.
“But--” Louis tries again.
“No, Lou, I love you,” Harry sighs, trying not to look too much at the fox -- sorry, fennec fox -- in Louis’ arms. It really is rather cute. If he looks too long, he’ll be won over and Louis will have won. Like they both know he well in the end anyway. “I do. So much. But we agreed cats and dogs.”
“Actually,” Louis says,”Fennec foxes are commonly considered a mix between a cat and a dog, so technically...” Louis trails off, offering Harry that tentative grin that makes him look more 22 than 32, throwing Harry right back to when they met at uni.
Harry half-groans, half laughs. His bloody ridiculous husband brought home a fox for them to shelter, and somehow Harry can’t even be surprised. At least it’s not a tarantula. Then he might have had to file for divorce. He says as much out loud, earning a grin from Louis.
“Never, my love,” his husband says, taking a step closer and resting his forehead against Harry’s. “I would never.” And, luckily, Harry knows it’s the truth.
“Just foxes,” Harry says, leaning into Louis’ touch, looking down at the sleeping fox between them.
“Just cats and dogs and fennec foxes,” Louis promises, kissing Harry’s forehead.
“It is rather cute,” Harry admits reluctantly, reaching down to stroke it between its ears.
“I named him Ham,” Louis says then, handing the fox to Harry for him to hold. It barely even stirs, just continues sleeping in Harry’s arms.
Harry groans. “You are not getting any say in naming our children and that’s final.” His husband might have terrible taste in names but at least life is never dull with him. “But you will get to keep the fox.”
“That’s a compromise I can live with,” Louis laughs, leaning in to kiss Harry, the fox nestled between them.
The five-sentence-fic-meme ✨
