Reason To Be (A Zouis Family AU)

Interlude Three, Chapter Two

He wants his first time to mean something. To be special, or whatever.

"Ni's in the room next door," he says instead, though that only makes Brad's eyes twinkle with more lust.

He kisses Harry again and this time, the curly haired boy lets him, falling back against the pillow again and letting out a small sigh as Brad's hand moves from between his legs to stroke gentle fingers over his lower stomach.

"Then we'll make it quick," Brad whispers, breaking away from the kiss for barely enough time for Harry to huff out a laugh at the other boy's joking words.

And then the door flies open and he jumps quickly, shoving Brad off of him and sitting up, tugging his t-shirt down properly.

Niall stands in the doorway with wide eyes before he quickly averts his gaze to the ground, keeping his hand on the door handle. "Sorry - Sorry - I didn't - uh, never mind," he rushes out, turning around and leaving the room quite abruptly, closing the door behind him.

Harry watches the fourteen year old leave with his heart racing in his chest, mostly glad it hadn't been one of their parents because that would have been far more embarrassing. His cheeks heat up nonetheless and he turns to glare at his boyfriend as he laughs.

"It's not funny, Brad. We just traumatised my little brother," he scolds, making the older boy turn to smirk at him.

"C'mon. It's a tiny bit funny," he quips, doing his best impression of a puppy dog with his eyes all wide so that it's basically impossible for Harry to stay mad.

He rolls his eyes and lets out a huff. "He might've had something important to say. You know he's not doing great," he mutters, serious again.

He and Niall haven't really sat down to properly talk about much in a while. They've both been busy with school; he's just finished his A-levels and gotten accepted to university, Dad and Papa are all excited over Liam and Em having a baby on the way, and Niall has been getting used to his meds and everything. They've been needing to sit down and chat for weeks - and the one time Niall comes to him, they scar the poor kid.

Brad presses his lips together and then nods, smiling softly as he reaches out to take one of Harry's hands, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know, babe. Forgive me?" He asks, batting those puppy eyes in a way that makes Harry's heart turn to mush in his chest.

He smiles and leans in to press a single, gentle kiss to his boyfriend's cheek. "Always," he murmurs. "But I really do need to go talk to him -"

"Course. Me and a couple of the other guys with summer accommodation are going out for drinks tonight anyway so I'd better get back and shower," he explains, moving to the edge of the bed and letting go of Harry's hand after giving it one last gentle squeeze. "Tell Ni I'm sorry if we've given him nightmares?"

Harry lets out a laugh at that, smiling as Brad kisses his mouth once more before retreating to the door. "I love you," he calls out, at which the older boy turns to him with a grin.

"I love you too," he replies, before he leaves the room.

And Harry slumps a little, smiling to himself. Love. He loves Brad and Brad loves him. He feels all warm for a few moments before he tells himself to get it together.

He hesitates before knocking on Niall's door, mainly out of his own embarrassment. He doesn't think the younger boy has ever even seen him kiss Brad goodbye before, let alone walked in on them in such a...compromising position.

With a wince, he raps his knuckles against the wood of the bedroom door a couple times. "Ni? It's me," he calls out softly, before he hears the quiet shuffling of feet on the other side and then the door is tugged open to reveal his little brother in yet another oversized hoodie.