1+1 Makes 3 | Niam

Chapter 52

Niall/Liam's p.o.v

"What about this one?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"Because."

"Because isn't an answer, Ni. What's wrong with this one?"

"I just don't like it."

"Seriously, love, what the hell is wrong with this crib? The last one was the wrong colour, the one before that had bars that were too low. What is it now?"

"Liam..."

"Niall."

"Liam."

"Niall..."

"Liam... Nothing is wrong with it per se, it's..... It's just not quite right. None of the cribs here are right.... I'm sorry, but I just don't like them."

Running his fingers along the side of the crib they were currently looking at, Niall wrinkled his nose slightly, shrugging as he looked up at Liam.

"Okay... What exactly do you not like about the crib? What would you rather we got for Naomi's room instead, love? You don't have to apologise, just tell me what you'd rather we bought." Shaking his head, Liam mentally counted to ten before he met Niall's gaze, softening as he saw the look of frustration - a look very similar to his own - on the younger guys face, linking his fingers through Niall's and turning away from the selection in front of them before asking  "If you were to design the crib yourself, what would it be like?"

"It would need to match the colour scheme we picked out for her room - you already started on the ocean mural scheme thingy - so it would need to be either a natural wood colour or maybe painted white." Biting his lip, Niall let go of Liam's hand and wrapped his arms around himself, smiling a little as he felt the baby kick.

"Ocean mural scheme thingy?" Hiding his grin, Liam shook his head again, gesturing for Niall to continue as they headed into a different part of the shop.

Trying to resist the urge to elbow Liam in the ribs, Niall gave him his standard you're-an-idiot glare as he said "Whatever it's called. The colour scheme we chose. It needs to match that. But it should be something simple, though, like the one we bought for Kieran."

"Okay... Anything else?"

"The sides of it need to be a little higher than the one in Kieran's room, actually, otherwise she'll be able to do what Kieran did yesterday and climb out." Closing his eyes momentarily, Niall tried to swallow the returning feeling of panic he'd felt previously, when he'd heard something fall in Kieran's room and then heard the toddlers cry, linking his fingers through Liam's and leaning into his side before looking up at the older guy, giving Liam a small smile and letting him continue to lead him through the store.

Squeezing Niall's hand, Liam slowed slightly and wrapped an arm around Niall's waist, starting to head back towards the far end of the shop as he said "That's a good point, actually, Ni..... But you want something high sided, a simple design and either wooden or white. Something like the one we looked at first?"

"Not necessarily. The one we looked at first just wasn't the right kind of right." Raising an eyebrow as he found himself staring at the same crib they'd looked at an hour ago, Niall huffed slightly, leaning into Liam's side before folding his arms and sighing.

Rolling his eyes, Liam sounded a lot older than thirty five, looking upwards towards the ceiling for a moment before he asked "How can something be the wrong kind of right? Ni, it's simple, made out of wood and matches the colour scheme we chose and it has high sides so Naomi won't be able to throw herself out of it like her brother. Seriously, love, how is it not the right kind of right? You've lost me here."

"Liam..."

"Niall."

"Liam."

"Niall..."

"Liam..... It's just..... I don't see her in it. It's perfectly fine and it meets the criteria, but, Li, it has to be right for her, perfect, and... And it's not." Letting his hormones get the better of him, Niall bit his lip again, his voice beginning to crack as he spoke, resting one hand on his bump and refusing to look at Liam as his tears began to spill over.

Pulling Niall into a hug, Liam didn't care as he felt Niall's tears soak through his shirt, dismissing the shop assistant who had been hovering around them and pressing a kiss to the top of Niall's head before standing back, using his thumb to wipe away the tear rolling down the younger boys face as he said "Love... Just because you don't see it yet, doesn't mean it won't be perfect for her. Ni, there's still three months before she's gonna be here, that's plenty of time to make it just right, it took you a while to realise you liked Kieran's room, we can work on it. This crib matches what you wanted, though, it's practically perfect, if you look at the criteria you wanted..."

Sniffing, Niall wiped at his face and nodded at Liam's words, staring at the crib for a few seconds before shrugging. "I guess it isn't all bad..... I mean, it does have everything I was looking for in a crib for her and it's not the worst... We could maybe try it."

"Exactly.... Well, kind of. We need a crib, Ni, and if you're okay with this one, we may as well get it. If you don't like it, we'll have to find a replacement for it." Letting out a sigh of relief as a shop assistant came over to them and began sorting the arrangements for the crib, Liam gave Niall a small smile before he began to head away from that section of the store, linking his fingers through Niall's once more as they made their way towards the rest of the shop, Niall picking up a bear themed onesie as they walked past and Liam selecting a small pink mouse stuffed toy.

**********

Dropping the last of the bags of shopping into what would soon be the baby's room, Liam winced slightly as he saw just how much they's ended up buying, heading for the door when he noticed the onesie Niall had first chosen hanging half out of a bag.

Scooping it up, he left, shutting the door behind him and heading towards the kitchen, holding the onesie out and giving Niall a small grin as he stood next to him. "Can't you just picture her in this? The same size Kieran was, or should have been, our little bear...."

Taking the onesie from Liam, Niall returned his smile, running his fingers over the material and nodding slightly as he said "I can see it actually, Li. Her in her room, in that crib. Clutching the mouse you picked out. Perfect. Like Kieran was, despite it all..... Li, thank you."

"For what?" Raising an eyebrow, Liam pulled a stool out and sat down, looking up at Niall before taking his hand and pulling him closer.

Smiling again at Liam, Niall sat next to him, their fingers still intertwined, their wedding bands touching, silent for a moment before saying "For being so.... understanding, for being so you, today."

Sliding his stool over so he was right next to Niall, the space between them occupied, Liam leant in and kissed Niall. "Now who's the sap?"

"You are... But I mean it, thank you." Breaking away, Niall leaned his forehead against Liam's, their noses practically touching, wrapping one arm around Liam's neck and pulling him closer before he leaned in and kissed him again.

Letting his own fingers tangle through the back of Niall's hair, Liam prised the onesie out of Niall's other hand, neither of the noticing as it fell to the floor as they kissed again, Liam only pulling away to mumble "For you, Ni, anytime."