married life ♡ niam au [COMPLETE]

day sixty-three // packing

"i really think we should wait," liam says tersely, watching from the couch as niall packs their dishes into boxes. "i don't know if this is a good idea."

"why? the place is ours, why not move as soon as possible?" niall is genuinely confused, and he stops packing dishes so he can face his husband head-on.

liam pauses, thinking. "well...moving is really stressful, and i don't want you be stressed while you're pregnant. it isn't good for you or for the baby."

niall frowns. "but it won't work here. we've filled out all the adoption paperwork, they want to do a home study soon. there isn't enough room here -- they know we're having a baby and adopting. we've only got one bedroom, babe, it just doesn't make sense."

liam frowns, too, knowing niall is right but not liking it. "but..."

"no. you know i'm right."

liam huffs. "fine. i really don't think it's a good idea, though..." 

"li." niall plops himself in liam's lap, cups his husband's face in his tiny hands. "i'll be careful. i won't lift anything heavy. i'll stop if i'm tired and --"

"okay," liam laughs, kissing his husband's pout away. "if you promise me  you'll do all the things you just said, okay, we'll move."

niall beams, hugging liam around his neck.

- - -

"why do we have so much shit in here?" niall whines. they're clearing out their room, and niall ended up sitting on the floor in their walk-in closet, looking through their random boxes of that. "liam? what's this?"

"what's what?" liam questions. he pokes his head into the closet, and his eyes widen when he sees the box niall is holding. "don't throw that out!" he reaches in, plucks the box from niall's hands.

"what is it?" niall asks. he follows liam to the bed, sits beside his husband.

"a bunch of random stuff. i barely remember what i put in here." he opens it and immediately laughs. "my best friend, alec, in high school. he moved away, we were pen pals for a while." he re-opens the letter, skims over it. he's smiling the tiniest amount. "look, i put all of my 'first' things in here." he opens a smaller box filled with polaroids. "this was my first boyfriend," he says, showing niall. niall leans in closer -- he's a handsome guy, tall, with a charming smile. he stands with his arm around liam, lips pressed against his cheek. it makes niall feel weird, and he sets the picture aside.

"is that your first car?" niall asks, pointing.

liam laughs. "yeah, it was a janky one. can't remember the kind right now, but it was my dad's. he got a new car right before i went off to uni, so he gave me his." he flips through the pictures some more. "here's zayn. my first roommate."

"you lived with zayn every year since you met him?"

liam feigns a grimace. "unfortunately."

niall rolls his eyes. "you love him, i don't get why you pretend you hate him."

"here's my and zayn's first dorm room, and our first apartment. oh! this is my favorite." he rummages to the bottom of the pile. "here's my first husband."

niall smacks his arm. it's a picture from their wedding; niall is laughing hysterically because liam just put a clump of cake on his nose, and liam's face is fond at niall's laughter. "it better be your last husband, too!"

"that's the goal." liam leans over and presses a few kisses to his cheek, and then puts the lid back on the box. "were you done with the closet?"

"no, i got distracted," niall admits. this has happened in every room they've packed up so far, even the bathroom. 

liam shakes his head. "i'll help you." they make their way to the closet, folding their clothes in a comfortable silence. "this is the last room we have to pack."

niall makes a surprised sound. "you're right. having zayn and harry help was a good idea, even if elise did end up watching dragon tales for too long and ate all of my fruit snacks."

liam laughs. "how're you feeling?"

"i'm totally fine. not even tired yet." niall honestly keeps forgetting he's pregnant until liam brings it up. he folds the last of his sweaters and puts it in the suitcase, minus the one he's going to wear the next day when they officially move. "done!"

"me, too," liam smiles. niall beams up at him from the floor. "are you as scared as i am for all of this?"

"absolutely," niall responds quickly, almost before liam finishes his sentence. "but we can do it. and we'll be literally around the corner from zayn and harry now, they'll help out, too. you know they will."

liam nods. "you're right. we can do this."

niall shifts so he's leaning against liam's knee -- he's sitting and liam is standing. liam bends at the waist to kiss the crown of his head. niall closes his eyes -- he doesn't have a doubt in his mind. everything will be okay.