Great Expectations [ A Niall Horan OU ]

drabble: isolation cupcakes

A/N: this is set slightly in the future, tweaked for the purpose of the drabble below! 

"Baby, don't stick your fingers in there," Niall yelps, reaching for Isabella's tiny hand and pulling it out of the cake batter. She frowns at him as he wipes her tiny hand off on the blue apron he put her in. He's starting to regret pulling his two year daughter into his quest to make Gia a cake.

But it's 6 weeks into isolation, and Gia's been craving sweets all week, digging around in their pantry despite knowing there isn't anything there to satisfy her sweet tooth. Niall's once every few weeks runs to the grocery store and endless searching online hadn't turned up the chocolate cake she was after.

So, he's improvising, and making good use of his boredom. He doesn't know how many more episodes of Peppa Pig he can watch without going insane — so he'd pulled his reluctant two-year-old away from the tv and ushered her into the kitchen. All after sending Gia off for a relaxing bath.

Despite the fact that Isabella had spilled half the bag of flour onto the floor earlier, and she doesn't seem to understand she can't eat the batter, she's having fun. He's put her hair into a ponytail and she's sitting on one of the island chairs, with Niall standing behind her so she doesn't tip over.

"Turn around, come on, the oven's almost ready," Niall tells her, steering her back to face the bowl and counter. He reaches over and pulls the tray of cupcake liners over. He presses a kiss to the top of his daughter's head, "Gonna help me pour this?"

Isabella nods her head silently as Niall brings the batter over. The kitchen is warm, not just from the oven and the heat from making the batter, but from the sun setting through the long windows too and the candles Niall has going on the far end of the counter. His phone is providing the tunes, a curated playlist he made when the idea to bake came into his mind. The music is soft, gentle and fits all the spaces between him talking to his daughter.

"Alright, baby, da's going to hold the bowl and you can spoon it into the little tins, okay?" Niall asks. He does the first cupcake and Isabella makes a sound of disapproval. "Okay, okay, you can do the rest. Slowly."

It's a little messy, and Isabella's hair is tickling Niall's chin because she's propped up on her little knees to finish the job, but it works out and she looks very proud of herself.

Niall pops the cupcakes into the oven and gets Isabella to wash off her hands before he takes to cleaning the counter. She runs off into the living room and comes back with the stuffed dog Harry and Rhea got her for her last birthday. She insists on letting it help them ice the cupcakes.

"Niall?"

He freezes when he hears Gia's voice in the living room. dropping the rag on the counter and rushing to the kitchen entrance. She's standing there with wet hair, clad in one of his shirts, and he suddenly forgets why he was panicked in the first place as he trails his eyes up figure.

"Are you making something?"

She takes a step forward and he snaps out of it, "No! I mean," he rubs at the back of his neck, "Yeah but, stay here, okay? It's a surprise."

Gia gives him a funny look, "A surprise?"

"Darlin," Niall pleads, "Just work with me, okay? It's almost done."

"Okay," Gia replies, smiling at him. "Should I pick a movie?"

"Yeah, just no Peppa Pig."

He heads back to the kitchen and gets Isabella seated far enough away from where he puts the cupcake tins when they're done. He works on the icing, and it's sloppy, but he tries his best while trying to keep his toddler from licking it off the cupcakes. "Baby," he says, laughing when he notices she's got blue icing on her nose. "You're making a mess." He quickly swipes it off and presses a kiss to her forehead, letting her keep the cupcake she has in her hands.

By the time they're done, and he's ushering Isabella out of the kitchen carefully because she's carrying the plate of cupcakes, his back is starting to hurt and he still has to do the dishes.

But when they round the corner and Gia's eyes light up, first with shock, and then with love, it's all worth it.

"Are those for me?" She asks, astonished as she takes the plate from Isabella.

Niall scoops their daughter up and settles down next to Gia on the couch, toddler balanced in his lap. "They might taste like shite, but yeah. Know you've been craving cake."

Gia's eyes soften and she gives Niall a smile.

"Well go on, don't make me wait any longer," he ushers, watching carefully as she unwraps a cupcake and takes a bite. When she's done, she sets the plate aside and gets the movie going so Isabella stops squirming.

"And?"

Gia turns towards Niall, tilting her head. She cups his cheeks and he's smiling against her lips when she presses them to his. He returns the kiss, tasting icing and chocolate.

"I love you," she tells him, earnestly. "You're the best."

His eyes light up as he replies, "I love you too, Gia."

It's not until much, much later that Niall cracks the joke that he and Harry could run a bakery together if the music thing doesn't pan out.