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

chapter thirteen

"The sun'll come out tomorrow!
So you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow!
Come what may tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya tomorrow!"

- Tomorrow ("Annie")

-

Niall got up for what seemed to be the millionth time that night.

"Trick-or-treat!" A ghost, a fairy, and a pirate stood at the door, buckets waiting.

"There you go! Happy Halloween!" Niall exclaimed as he dropped half a handful of sweets into each pail. He was dressed as Peter Pan, and Zayn couldn't help but admire every once in a while the way his green tights hugged every curve on Niall's lower half.

Niall closed the door and set down the huge bowl of sweets Zayn had been snacking on far out of his reach.

Louis and Liam lay on the floor counting and sorting their candy. They had been home for a while, as Harry had already been laid down for the night.

Zayn winked at Niall cheekily over the table, making it obvious that he appreciated what Niall was wearing. Niall just rolled his eyes and dismissed him with a wave of his hand, secretly smiling.

Zayn tried in vain to reach the candy bowl, but Niall swatted his hand away.

"No!" Niall laughed. "These are for the kids!"

Zayn stuck his tongue out teasingly as Niall answered the doorbell again. The dogs, who surprisingly didn't race each other to the door to see who was there, lay by Zayn's feet, Loki cuddled into Harley's side.

Liam had run across a razor blade in a piece of caramel last year, so Zayn, being the overly protective and worrisome father he was, had looked through both of their bags before either of the twins had eaten any.

"Papa, can we have some more sweets?" Louis asked from the floor.

"Only a little, and then we have to go and brush our teeth really well, correct?" Zayn gave a pointed look as Niall came back.

"We promise!" Both boys dove enthusiastically back into their pillowcases, Louis more so than his brother.

Niall hoisted his legs on top of Zayn's, whose socked feet were resting on the edge of Niall's chair.

"I think only about thirty more minutes, and then trick-or-treating should be over," he said. "Then I can take this dumb costume off!"

"You did pick it out, sweet cheeks. You can take it off if you really want to." Zayn said smugly, casting his dark, brooding eyes in Niall's direction.

"Don't patronise me dear, it's makes you look bad. And I know you like my costume. You've been staring at me all night." Niall pompously picked at his nails and smirked.

"Simply can't help myself when it comes to you, my love," Zayn shrugged as he rose from his seat. "You're irresistible." Opening the refrigerator door, he picked up a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and downed a portion of it before replacing the lid.

"Ha ha," Niall mocked from the table.

Zayn dropped his water bottle on the table and carefully grabbed Niall's face in both hands. He pecked him on the forehead and nose, and made exaggerated kissing noises just to get a reaction out of the boys.

"Ewwwww!" Louis scrunched up his nose and let himself fall dramatically onto the floor. "That's gross, Papa! Don't do that in front of me!"

Zayn laughed heartily and shared a glance with Niall who laughed at his husband's silly expression. Niall leaned forward and stretched up so he could reach Zayn's face to kiss him properly.