Life As We Know It | Niam Kidfic

Eleven

"Can I have a McMuffin?" Louis asks, thumb in their mouth. Their free arm is wrapped around Niall's bicep, and they're so close to Niall that if Niall was to move, Louis would probably completely fall over.

"Sure, bug. Whatever you want." Niall runs a hand through Louis' hair affectionately. Getting the five-year-old up and out of bed wasn't easy, and it only got worse when Louis proceeded to cry the whole time they were getting ready for school.

"Uncle Li," Louis calls, letting go of Niall's arm to pull their other uncle into the line. "Are we getting food for Zee and H, too?"

"No, the babysitter will feed them. No need to worry about that." Liam smooths Louis' hair back. Louis' one request was for both of their uncles to take them back to school, which surprised Liam, to say the least. He agreed, though, finding a babysitter for Zayn and Harry. "Do you know what you're getting, Ni?" Liam asks as Niall leans his head against his shoulder tiredly. He turns his head a bit to kiss the top of Niall's head.

"Just coffee, I think," Niall answers with a yawn.

Louis turns around to face their uncles. "I'll share my McMuffin, Uncle Ni."

Niall cracks a smile. "Thank you, sweetheart, but I'm not so hungry right now. You just eat all of yours, okay?"

Not much later, the three of them are sitting at a table. Niall tiredly sips at his coffee, and Louis sits in Liam's lap, swinging their legs as they eat their breakfast sandwich. When they're finished, they play with a toy car quietly, giggling as they drive it up Liam's arm over his tattoos.

"Silly little thing," Liam chuckles affectionately, kissing the back of Louis' head. "You ready to go, kiddo?"

Louis squirms uncomfortably. "I guess..."

Niall takes their hand. "Lou, today is gonna go well, I promise. It might be a little bit hard at first, but you'll still have your friends and your teacher, who you really like, right?"

Louis can't help but nod at that. "But..."

"But?"

They jut their lower lip out. "I like being home with you and Uncle Li and H and Zee..."

"Hey, none of that," Liam says gently, wiping a few tears off of Louis' cheek. "We'll all be there to pick you up when school is done, yeah? I promise."

Louis sniffles. "Can we get ice cream after?"

"Sure. Why not?" Liam responds after looking at Niall, who shrugs. They make their way out to the car, and Louis starts to fidget, clearly becoming more and more uncomfortable the closer they get to the school.

"Louis, I've got something for you," Niall says gently. That makes the kid perk up, and Niall hands him a Target bag. Louis peels back the plastic and lets out a screech of delight at the plush baby Moana doll.

"Thank you!" they chirp, hopping up to hug their uncles. "I love her! She's so soft!"

Liam laughs fondly. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Are you ready to go in now?"

Louis hesitates. "Will you go with me?"

"Of course we will," Liam nods, turning off the ignition and climbing out of the car, Niall following him. They both take one of Louis' hands after Niall helps them put their Moana doll in their shark backpack. 

"Okay, Lou," Niall says gently as they arrive at his classroom. "Are you ready?"

Louis pauses, chewing on their lip, and their teacher makes their way out into the hall. "Hi, Louis! We're so glad to see you're back!"

Louis shrinks back against Niall's side. "Hi, Ms. Carter."

"Your friends have missed you a lot, Lou," she says gently. "Do you want to go in and find your seat?"

They hesitate, but after some gentle coaxing from Liam and Niall, they hug their uncles goodbye before making their way into the room.

"Ms. Carter," Liam calls before she goes back into the room. "Niall and I just thought you should know, Louis is nonbinary. They use they/them pronouns. This is all pretty new for us, and for them as well, but I just thought I should mention it to you so that they don't get misgendered or anything like that. I'm not sure how the other kids will respond..."

Ms. Carter waves her hand. "Don't worry about that, please. The other kids will respond well. There will be an adjustment period, but Louis isn't the only non-gender conforming child in the class, and definitely not in our school. Thank you for telling me, though, I'll be sure to make them feel as validated and comfortable in my class as I can."

"Thank you so much," Niall says, tears in his eyes. Knowing that the environments Louis is in will accept them for who they are means so much to him, and his heart is practically mush in his chest.

"They're going to be just fine," Liam assures Niall gently, interlacing their fingers as they walk back out to the car.

"I know," Niall sniffles, sheepish. "Talking to their teacher solidified that for me. I'm just...happy she's going to be so accommodating for them."

Liam lifts their joined hands to his mouth and kisses the back of Niall's. "Me, too." They get into the car in silence, and Liam takes Niall's hand again. "I think we need to talk, Ni. About the kiss, about what we're doing..."

Niall nods. "Yeah, I think so, too. Maybe when the boys take their nap?"

Liam nods. "Sounds good to me."