1+1 Makes 3 | Niam

Chapter 32

Niall's p.o.v

Opening his eyes as he heard the baby monitor go off, Niall tried not to frown as he noticed the other side of the bed was empty, remembering Liam mumble something about leaving early for a meeting, forcing himself to get up, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and one of Liam's old T-shirts before he shuffled into Kieran's room.

Picking Kieran up, Niall held him close, shushing him as he began to rock him from side to side, picking up a pacifier and smiling softly as Kieran accepted it, the odd wail coming from his son quieting as Niall started running a hand through the Kieran's hair. "Another day, huh, sweetie? C'mon, lovebug, shall we see if uncle Lou's awake yet?"

Cooing as Kieran shook his head, the eight month old choosing to instead his his face in Niall's shoulder, sniffing as he clutched at Niall's shirt, Niall nodded as they headed out to the kitchen, easing Kieran into his high chair before placing his bottle in front of him, picking up the bottle and feeding him as Kieran tried to grab it.

Picking Kieran up once he'd finished his bottle, Niall patted him on the back, walking around the kitchen a few times until Niall heard the tell tale yawn and made his way back to Kieran's room, setting the once more sleeping infant back into his cot before he began the rest of his new morning routine, one he'd adopted over the past three weeks.

Heading back out to the kitchen, he made two cups of coffee, taking a sip of his own before making his way to the spare room, knocking on the door before entering. Setting the coffee down on the night stand, Niall shook his head as he pried Louis' phone out of his hand, sighing as he saw the photo of Harry staring up at him, before he proceeded to try and wake his best friend.

"Lou.........." Shaking his shoulder, Niall counted to ten as he waited for a response and when he didn't get one, he opened the blinds, allowing the cool October light to flood into the room before he shook Louis' shoulder again. "Lou.... come on. You can't sleep forever."

"Who says I can't?" Hiding his face in the pillow, Louis groaned as he opened his eyes, immediately closing them when he saw the look on Niall's.

Sitting at the end of the bed, Niall bit back a sigh of frustration as he said "C'mon Louis....... You can't stay in bed all day, you have a job, remember? Please Lou....."

Sitting up, Louis groaned again, swallowing a mouthful of the coffee Niall had brought him as wished he was back in his flat with Harry, pushing that thought out of his mind, and trying to rub the tear stained marks off of his face before he muttered "I'm up, okay?"

Squeezing his arm, Niall sighed as Louis took his phone back, his best friend biting his lip as he looked down at his screen saver, swallowing back more tears before flopping back into the pillows and hiding under the blankets.

Watching this unfold, Niall sat silently for a minute before leaving, trying not to focus on the many ways he could kill Harry as he picked up the landline to call Louis' boss, saying that Louis was still sick with bronchitis and wouldn't be in for a while yet before he swallowed the rest of his coffee and poked his head back around the door into Louis' room.

Sitting back on the end of the bed, Niall sighed as he saw his best friend still curled up underneath the blankets. "Lou..... come on, please? You can't mope around forever, you know that right? At some point, you have to start to move on."

Looking out from under the blankets, Louis struggled to meet Niall's gaze, feeling his cheeks grown damp as he began to mutter "What if I don't want to move on? I love him, Ni, and that's never going to change. I just...... I can't, Ni. I'd love to 'move on' but I can't and he's killing me..."

Sitting next to Louis, Niall gave his best friend a hug, not caring as his top began to feel slightly damp, handing Louis a tissue before he murmured "Lou..... It'll be okay, eventually, it will be."