Reason To Be (A Zouis Family AU)

Interlude One, Chapter Two

Zayn sighs as Harry bursts into tears yet again when he has to have his insulin shot. As soon as it's over, he's sticking a plaster over the speck of blood on the surface of his thigh and tugging his trousers back up for him before he pulls him into a hug.

"I know, baby, I know," he soothes, tears pricking at his own eyes when the eight year old clings onto the front of his shirt.

It's been two full weeks and the boy has been home for one and a half of them now, and it's still been a lot for all of them to get used to. Harry has to check his sugars before and after each meal; when he's at home, the men will be there with him but whilst he's at school, he has to go to the nurse and eat lunch supervised instead of getting to be with his friends. It's a lot of change for the kid, a lot of change for all of them in general.

Zayn has to do the shopping that weekend and buy a lot of different foods to make sure that nothing would be too high in sugar for snacks and so on, and of course, that had upset Niall who loves his sugar.

Harry eventually starts to sniffle instead, and Zayn presses a kiss into his curls, rocking him back and forth a little. "Did it hurt?" He asks softly after, worried that he had hurt the boy in trying to help.

He currently has to have the insulin twice per day, only having more if his blood sugars rise too high in order to bring them down. And Harry hates the injections, he hates the numbers, and he hates everything about the illness. Zayn can tell that much, and he really feels for the poor kid.

Harry shakes his head against his chest. "N-no. I just don't like it," he murmurs, and Zayn sighs, holding the boy a little tighter.

"I know you don't bud. But remember what the doctor said? When you're a little older, you can get a special pump and that means you don't need to have the injections or -"

"I don't like any of it, Papa. I jus' want it to go away," he mumbles.

Zayn doesn't know what to say to make it better, so he just hugs the boy for a while longer before he says, "it's been about fifteen minutes, shall we take your blood sugar again and see if you can have something to eat now?" He offers when the boys stomach rumbles.

Harry gives a hesitant nod, shifting off of the man's lap to sit on the bed whilst he sets about getting the small bg machine set up.

The door flies open and Niall rushes in grinning. "Papa! Papa! Guess what -"

Zayn barely even glances at the boy, sighing instead. "Ni honey, Papa's a little busy right now. Why don't you go tell Daddy?" He says, and the boy pouts and leaves the room.

He turns back to Harry with the machine in hand, and the boy holds out his index finger. Zayn takes the small digit carefully before he pricks it, causing a small bubble of blood to rise and for Harry to flinch.

He winces in sympathy for the boy, lifting the machine and scraping the blood onto the end of the small plastic stick. It takes a few seconds before it flashes up with the boys blood sugar levels. He smiles and shows Harry the screen. "You see that bud?" He asks, and Harry rubs at his eye, giving a silent nod. He rubs the boys back reassuringly. "You know what that means?"

Harry gives another nod. "I can have food now?" He asks, and Zayn grins.

"Sure can," he says, standing up from the bed and holding out a hand, which Harry takes immediately.

He leads the boy down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Louis turns to face them with a smile, before his eyes land on Harry's tear-stained face. "Oh, baby," he murmurs, crossing the room to scoop the eight year old up with ease, the boy cuddling into him.