The Missing Piece

Six

Niall is confused when he opens his eyes in the morning, staring at the pale blue wall in front of him. He rolls over, blinking blearily at the dimly lit room, morning sunlight piercing through the curtains. For a moment, he expects his Dad to wrap an arm around him from behind and cuddle him close, tell him good morning and that he loves him.

But he's alone, Bunny and the dog he remembers being called Spot tucked beneath the covers next to him.

He sits up quickly, his heart racing in his chest for a moment before he begins to recognise his surroundings. He slumps a little, lifting a hand to rub at his eyes, his other reaching across for Bunny and pulling him onto his lap.

He stares at the door for a while and prays that his Daddy will come back and find him, that this will all just be one big mistake.

But he isn't stupid. He's eight, not a baby. He knows that this is all real, that his Dad - George - he must have taken him when he was little, because there are little bits and pieces of this place that he knows he's seen before. But he can't have done it on purpose.

He jumps when the door opens suddenly, his breath catching in his throat only to release when the small boy, his little brother, peeks in.

He grins when he sees Niall. "You're awake! Everybody always sleeps for so long norm'ly. D'you wanna play in my room with me?"

Niall looks at the other boy for a moment before he gives a silent nod. He's never got to play with another kid before - well, not since he can remember.

Kicking back the covers, he's surprised to see that he's in pyjamas that he doesn't recognise. He grabs ahold of both his teddies, hooking them beneath one arm and waiting for the other boy - Louis, he thinks - to lead the way.

Louis takes him by surprise, grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the room, into another room opposite.

His room is red, with Spider-Man bed covers and toys everywhere, a TV on the wall.

The boy lets go of his hand and grins at him, and Niall notices that one of his bottom teeth is missing. "D'you like Spider-Man?"

Niall nods at that. "Uh-huh. He's my favourite. And Iron Man. And the Avengers and Star Wars," he says, then blushes a little and shrugs his shoulders up a little, glancing quietly around the room.

Louis beams. "Cool! We can play heroes if you wanna! I got lots of costumes and stuff," he says, running over to the box in the corner and falling to his knees.

He flips the lid up and begins rummaging around inside, so Niall walks over and kneels down beside him, setting both Bunny and Spot down and peering inside at the array of costumes.

Louis stops and turns to him with his brows furrowed, tilting his head slightly. "Where did you go?" He asks.

Niall blinks, staying quiet.

Louis goes on. "'Cause Daddy and Papa said a bad man taked you when you was even littler than me, and that's why you were gone for a - a really long time. But you said at dinner time that he wasn't a bad man."

He shrugs, looking down at his lap, at the pyjamas that aren't his and are all wrong. "I don't know," is all he says, quietly.

"Oh," Louis says, then looks at him for a while before turning back to the box. "I'm happy you're back. Everybody always got sad before whenever I talked about you. I - I don't 'member you from before though, 'cause I was a baby. Do you 'member me?"

Niall pauses, then shakes his head. He kind of wishes he did. It would make this whole thing a lot easier, if he remembered more.

Louis just shrugs, then holds up a black Spider-Man suit with a grin. "You wanna be Venom?"