Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Liam

"You'll be good for Jessica, yeah?"

Raising an eyebrow as he looked down at Chloe, Liam looked at her expectantly, waiting until she nodded and mumbled something that might have been a 'yes' to give her a grin, ruffling her curls and shaking his head at her fondly as she pulled away, grumbling. The face she pulled as she tried to tidy her hair was obviously a cue to leave and he obliged, shutting the door behind him at her request.

He had to resist the urge to laugh at Chloe as he leant against the wall outside her room, schooling his expression into something more neutral before he popped his head back around the door. "Your dad and I will be back late, long after you're supposed to be asleep. You will go to bed, right? When Jessica asks you?"

The look Chloe fixed him with told him everything he needed to know and possibly a few things that he could have done without being told — that she thought he was being ridiculous and dull being one of them — but he waited persistently until she nodded and acquiesced. "I will. Promise. But what if Jessica doesn't send me to bed? What then?"

"Then I guess you'll still be up when we get back." The grin Chloe gave him at his words was deceptively angelic and Liam shook his head at her, letting himself smile just a little as he said, "But you could put yourself to bed, Chlo. You could even remind Jessica of your bedtime. Just think, you, all responsible, in bed for nine."

"And miracles might happen, Li." Niall appeared at his shoulder, peering past him at Chloe and pulling a face at the eight-year-old that made her briefly protest before she shrugged and began giggling, which made Niall smile at her, honest and genuine for the first time all day, before he pulled Liam away, ushering him to get ready. His smile hadn't been lost on Liam and it made Liam smile too, leaning against the chest of drawers in the room and watching as Niall chose him out a shirt to wear and threatened him with a tie.

The tie was thrown at him, not quite hitting home despite Niall's best efforts, after he made a comment that left Niall spluttering and laughing, and hearing that took a weight off his shoulders and tempted Liam to repeat himself just to hear it again, especially since Niall had spent most of the day being quiet and pale, mostly due to nausea, that had only really subsided after they'd gotten home from the day of museums they'd taken Liam's parents on. He would have laughed too, only Niall picked the tie up from where it had fallen and looped it gently around his neck, promising, "Maybe later."

He couldn't help but inhale sharply, wrapping an arm around Niall and pulling him in so that they were close enough for him to feel the warmth of his skin and the slight curve between his hips that made him smile for an entirely different reason before he realised that Niall had taken advantage of his distraction to knot the tie and straighten out his collar, pressing a kiss to Liam's jaw before he said, "After we have dinner with your parents. Who we're going to be late to meet."

And then Niall left to let Jessica in, not there to see Liam's eyes close for just a moment before he followed him out to the kitchen where he was helping Jessica with her coat. After months of giving Liam a look that he couldn't quite interpret — protective, mostly, and she never seemed to care about who he was, more about what he did when it came to Niall and Chloe — Jessica actually gave him a smile when he said hello, though she was then shooing him and Niall out the door whilst managing not to roll her eyes at Niall as he gave her instructions that she had to know off by heart by now.

Niall fell quiet again on the way there, though he did let Liam take his hand as they headed into the restaurant, both of them well aware that they were already late for dinner and dropping into their seats after rushing in, in a manner not quite befitting the poshness of the restaurant Liam had chosen.