the boys have been home for a few weeks. they look less like weird wrinkly newborns and more like Actual Babies, starting to fill out a bit and gain some weight. eli is permanently on the bottle now, because its easier and he seems to prefer it. and harry still thinks eli doesnt like him very much, despite the fact that he’s just shy of two months old and therefore does not have the mental capability to even know what dislike is, never mind direct it at someone or something. BUT, one day, harry’s normally very happy and easy-going jude is in full meltdown mode. he woke up cranky and stays that way all day. he wants nothing to do with harry or jeff, other than to be fed and changed. eli however, seemingly taking in the scene, has decided to be fairly amicable, as though he can sense what’s going on – maybe he’ll give his dads a break. until dinnertime rolls around, and jeff accidentally fucks up eli’s bottle, so his feeding gets delayed a little and he is Unhappy about it. even after he’s had his bottle, he’s still looking at harry and jeff like they’e royally betrayed him somehow, that his two minute postponing of his dinner is absolutely unacceptable and he wont be forgetting it any time soon. so trying to get the boys to bed is an absolute nightmare. jude screams the entire time he’s being changed into his onesie, and eli follows suit. however, jude eventually tires himself out with his wailing, and dissolves into shaking inhales and exhales and he slowly starts to fall asleep, even with eli still causing a ruckus. jeff tries everything to get him to calm down a bit, but nothing seems to be working. harry is sitting nearby biting his nails, looking worriedly on, starting to get seriously worried. “what if something is actually wrong with him? what if he’s sick or in pain or–” “h, he’s fine. he’s just cranky. he was fine all day until just now.” “but–” “look. here… take him for a few minutes. see? he’s fine. he’s just tired and upset, for whatever reason.” and maybe jeff leaves them for a few minutes so he can use the bathroom, and during that time, harry lays down on the couch, puts a wailing eli on his chest, and (as cliche as it is, leave me olone) he starts to sing to eli, so eli can feel the vibration of his voice. and it takes few minutes, but eventually it does the trick and harry is so so happy and so is jeff. fast-forward 5 years and eli STILL loves harry singing to him, and even though he’s getting tall and is a little big to be laying all over his dad, especially considering that he has no concept of how rough he’s being sometimes, he still crawls on harry like a spider monkey and can STILL fall asleep on his chest if harry sings to him.