Love Me Like You Do (z.h. mpreg)

chapter twenty

"I never cared much for moonlight skies, I never wink at fireflies,

But now that the stars are in your eyes, I'm beginning to see the light.

I never went for after-glow, candle light on the mistletoe,

But now when you turn the lamp down low, I'm beginning to see the light.

-"I'm Beginning to See the Light", recorded by Kitty Kallen and Harry James and his Orchestra, 1945

-

Zayn stood under the apple tree and looked at Niall like he was the only boy in the world. Niall was wearing the lined denim jacket again, except without the beanie so that his natural brunette hair showed. Niall reached up to pluck an apple off​ a tree and brought it over to Zayn to put in their bucket. Zayn kissed him chastely with a smile, not caring about the nasty looks they received from another family farther down the grove.

It was a truly beautiful day, with the leaves falling, the slight chill of the wind, and the scent of cinnamon doughnuts, pumpkins and apples wafting through the air.

Their bushel was almost full now, so Niall plucked a few more red-green apples and gently laid them next to the bag of doughnuts.

Greg and Denise were pushing Harry's stroller and making faces at him, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the three boys who had ran to a spot two trees down.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Greg asked, finally looking up.

"No, daddy, wait! We wanna play more on the playground!" Theo said, running over to his parents and tugging at their pant legs. Liam and Louis ran over as well, holding onto the edge of Harry's stroller and jumping up and down until Zayn told them to stop.

"That's fine, buddy," Denise sighed. "but you can play for only a few minutes and then we have to leave, okay?"

Theo huffed but agreed, then pushed the stroller to the playground with his parents.

Liam ran over to stand in between his parents, begging them to swing him up by his arms.

"Ready?" Niall laughed as he clasped his son's little hand tightly.

"Hold tight!" Zayn said, and they swung him off his feet, sending him into a fit of breathless giggles.

Liam asked them to do it a few more times until Louis saw what they were doing and asked to have a turn.

"Sure, baby, since you asked so nicely," Zayn said sweetly, chucking him gently under the chin.

Louis grabbed their hands excitedly and jumped up and down, waiting for them to swing him.

"Ready?" Zayn and Niall said in unison.

"Ready!" Louis cheered, laughing almost hysterically when they swung him up a few times.

Theo came over to get his turn, and after that all the boys raced over to the nearby playground to chase each other around.

Niall leaned his head on Zayn's shoulder as they fondly watched their kids. In turn, Zayn hung an arm around Niall's neck. Niall turned up to kiss him too fast at the same time Zayn leaned down too fast, so they bumped heads. Niall chuckled as Zayn frowned and rubbed his head, and then they tried to kiss again. Niall felt Zayn whisper an 'I love you' against his lips, so cupped Zayn's cheek and whispered it back.

"I love you too, Z," he smiled. Niall went to give his husband another chaste kiss when Louis came running over with the other two, crying about how he bumped his head on a bar. As Liam and Louis ran to Zayn and Niall, Theo ran over to his parents and hid his face in Denise's legs.