"Hey Babe" *Narry* (by my1dslash.tumblr.com)

12

Harry tugged his beanie down further over his curls and adjusted the book he was using to hide his face. Niall’s flight was due in any second and Harry didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to watch Niall, didn’t want to see the prick who had made a move on Harry’s baby. But as much as he didn’t want to be here, he knew he couldn’t not be here.

He wasn’t sure if he had forgiven Niall or not. He hadn’t had much time to think about it. But all he knew was that the kid he’d been craving to see and feel and touch and hold for months was finally back, and Harry couldn’t stay away.

But Harry couldn’t let Niall see him. Because then the blonde would assume he was forgiven.

So the green eyed boy was hiding behind an open book, his eyes darting to the gate every few seconds as he waited for Niall to emerge. He just wanted to see him, that was all. Maybe it would help him make his decision.

When Niall finally emerged, Harry wasn’t expecting it. He wasn’t expecting Niall to look so, well, broken. He was hunched over, his fist tight around the handle of his carry-on and his expression told Harry that he was ready to burst into tears at any second. From the way he was looking determinedly at the ground, Harry knew Niall didn’t expect anyone to be there to welcome him.

Harry watched from his hiding spot as the boys he recognized as Liam and Zayn and – that fucker – Louis spilled from the gate. He watched as Liam was caught in a headlock by a laughing boy with long hair, watched as Zayn pressed his lips to those of a pretty blonde girl, watched as Louis embraced his mum. But Niall kept his eyes on the ground, afraid to look up and see that his worst nightmare had come true.

As Niall’s friends embraced their loved ones the blonde boy drifted to the side, inadvertently moving closer to Harry as he did so. Liam jogged over after a few seconds, concern etched in every feature.

“Niall?”

The blue eyed boy looked up and offered what Harry assumed was meant to be a smile.

“Where’s Harry?” Liam glanced around and Harry was forced to quickly cover his face, the book blocking him from seeing Niall’s reaction to his name.

“S-something came up,” Niall mumbled. “He couldn’t make it.”

Harry lowered his cover carefully and saw the confusion in Liam’s warm brown eyes.

“Niall, is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine,” the blonde tried to laugh it off, but it was obvious his mirth was forced. “I’m fine.”

“What happened?” Liam asked softly. “You’ve been acting weird since California.”

“Nothing happened,” Niall insisted, though the weakness in his voice told another story.

Liam wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and Harry watched as Niall broke down in his embrace, sobs tearing from his body as he clung desperately Liam.

“I-I kissed Louis,” Niall cried into the soft fabric of Liam’s shirt. “I fucked up. I fucked up everything.”

“Oh Niall,” Liam ran a soothing hand over the blonde’s hair, pulling the other boy in closer. “It’ll be okay love.”

“No it won’t,” Niall sobbed, his voice breaking with every word. “Harry doesn’t love me anymore. He trusted me and I broke his trust. I ruined everything. And I knew he hated Louis, I knew it. He told me in an email that he didn’t trust him and then I went and fucking snogged him. I snogged my boyfriend’s worst enemy.”

“He’ll forgive you,” Liam assured the shaking boy in his arms. “He loves you.”

“That doesn’t mean he’ll forgive me,” Niall sobbed. “He shouldn’t forgive me. I deserve to suffer. I don’t deserve Harry. I never have. I had a crush on him for so long and then he was finally mine and I knew it was too good to be true. I knew I would lose him.”

Harry couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t stand to sit there while the person he loved more than anything else in the world broke down, sobbing into someone else’s shoulder.  As he stood up and crossed towards the crying boy he began to see flashes of Niall’s video messages, of all the times he made Harry realize how much the blonde did care. It was a mistake – kissing Louis – and one Harry wasn’t entirely sure he forgave, but he knew he couldn’t live without Niall. He knew he needed the blonde in his arms again before he exploded.

Liam saw him coming and his eyes widened, but Harry just held a finger to his lips to keep the brunette quiet. Harry stopped behind Niall and gave the boy a small tap on the shoulder, holding his breath as he waited for Niall to turn around.

Niall did so slowly, pulling back from Liam and wiping his tears on the sleeve of a jumper Harry recognized as his own before he finally spun to face Harry.

Niall’s eyes widened and his lip trembled and a broken sob of “H-Harry!” spilled over his lips as he collapsed into Harry’s arms. His own arms wrapped tightly around Harry’s torso, so tight that the curly haired boy had to struggle for breath, and Niall pushed his face into Harry’s neck as he bawled.

Harry kept one arm around Niall’s waist and used the other to rub soothing circles on the crying boy’s back.

A tumbled mantra of words fell from Niall’s lips to Harry’s skin, a tangled mess ofI’msorryIloveyouI’msorryDon’tleavemeI’msorry.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Harry promised, tipping Niall’s chin up so he could look into his boyfriend’s teary blue eyes. “You screwed up Niall. You did. I haven’t entirely forgiven you yet. But I would never be able to forgive myself if I pushed you away because of one mistake. You mean so fucking much to me and living without you has been torture and I can never go through that again Niall. I can’t. Please don’t leave me behind ever again.”

Niall seemed to be in shock and he clearly hadn’t been expecting to be forgiven. He let out a relieved laugh, tears still on his cheeks as he brought a hand up to cup Harry’s face. “Y-you still love me?”

Harry nodded and Niall let out another relieved noise, but this time it was a sob. His tears continued but Harry knew they were happy tears now and he gently brushed them away as they continued to stain Niall’s skin.

“I love you,” Niall whispered forcefully before he pressed his lips to Harry’s. “And I promise to never fuck up again.”

As they kissed Harry felt something jump to life in his chest and he recognized it as his heartbeat. He had made the right decision.

Because Harry’s heart belonged to Niall and, without him, it lost the will to beat.

The End