Niall kicks his feet back and forth on the chair of the hospital waiting room.
He doesn't like hospitals at all usually, but this one isn't so bad. The strong, acidic smell in the air isn't so strong, and the walls aren't all white and boring. There are elephants and giraffes and lions painted on the walls, and that's because Louis says it's a children's hospital.
Niall feels sad at that. He leans into Louis' side and looks up at him with wide eyes. "But why are children in the hospital?" He asks quietly, his spirits a little dampened.
Louis wraps an arm around his shoulders and cuddles him close to his side, looking down at him warmly. "Well...there are a few reasons. Some of them are here because they got hurt, like you. Some are here because they're poorly..."
Niall's only just gotten better from being poorly himself. He still has to take the gross yellow medicine that supposed to be banana flavoured but definitely isn't, but at least his throat and ears don't hurt him so bad anymore.
Even though having tonsillitis and a double ear infection had been really horrible, he still didn't have to come to the hospital. The kids who have to stay here must be really poorly, he thinks.
He chews his lip and lets out a sad breath. "Oh. I feel bad for them," he murmurs.
Louis kisses the top of his head, and after a moment of silence, decides to change the subject the way grown ups sometimes do when things get too sad.
"So, how about this cast, then? Not much room for anymore decoration, is there?" He asks, I'm a slightly more upbeat tone.
Niall glances down at his light blue cast on his right arm. Everybody he loves has signed it now; Louis, Harry, Liam, Zayn, Noelle, Luke. Zayn had drawn lots of things ok there, because Niall wanted it to look like a tattoo cast.
He grins, looking back up at the man and nodding. "Uh-huh. I love it. I'm gonna keep it forever and put it on the shelf in my room," he says, making Louis grin right back at him.
"Your room," he says softly, before he nods and ruffles Niall's hair. "Sounds like a plan. No more casts ever again after this one, huh?"
Niall giggles. "No more casts," he agrees with a nod.
"Niall Horan?"
He jumps a little at the call of his name, unintentionally curling closer to Louis. The man smiles at the lady who'd called, before he stands and holds his hand out to Niall.
Growing nervous, Niall slips his hand into the man's and allows himself to be guided down a hall and into a room.
The lady stands next to a paper lined bed and turns to smile at them both. Her name tag reads, 'Sr. Nurse Zodie'.
"Alrighty then, you must be Niall," she says, leaning down a little be closer to his level.
Niall sucks in his bottom lip and shuffles behind Louis' leg a little, feeling anxious. His good hand moves up to hold onto the back of the man's jacket.
Louis rests his hand on top of Niall's head and scratches his scalp soothingly. "He's a little shy," he says softly, before looking down at him with a gentle smile. "It's okay to say hi, honey."
Hesitating, Niall steps forward and holds out his left hand. "Nice to meet you, miss," he whispers, blinking up at the lady, who looks a little surprised before she grins, taking his hand and giving it a gentle shake.
"Well, it's lovely to meet you! What a little gentleman," she praises, making him blush and dip his chin down bashfully. "Alright, angel, lets get you up onto the table and see about removing this cast, hm?"
He goes back to clinging onto Louis' jeans at that, looking up of the man pleadingly. Louis smiles at him with his eyes going all warm and gooey, then he reaches down and scoops him up beneath the armpits, settling him on his hip.
The man turns to the nurse and smiles. "Can I sit up with him?" He asks, and Nurse Zodie nods with a knowing smile, gesturing to the bed.
Louis sits down and settles Niall next to him. Niall leans into his side, eyeing the nurse anxiously as she pushes a wheeled table in front of him and asks him to rest his casted arm on it.
She holds up a weird looking machine and gives him a wink. "This is the magic thing that's gonna saw the cast off for you. It's noisy, but don't be scared, because it won't hurt you. It only cuts through the cast, nothing else, I promise."
Niall isn't certain, but when he glances up at Louis for reassurance, the man gives him an assuring nod and kisses the top of his head.
He takes a breath and decides to be brave, settling his right arm on the table and trying not to flinch when the saw turns on loudly. He squeezes his eyes shut and turns his head into Louis arm as he feels the pressure of the saw against his cast, holding his breath for a few seconds before he realises that it doesn't hurt.
Within a couple of minutes, the cast is slipped off of his arm, and Niall opens his eyes, peering at his arm. It feels weirdly light and bare without the cast that's been on it for almost seven weeks.
He wiggles his fingers, wrinkling his nose up at how pale and sweaty his skin is.
Nurse Zodie chuckles. "Feels odd, doesn't it?" She asks, and he gives a nod, allowing the woman to take his arm and guide it into bending at the elbow before straightening it again. "How does that feel?"
Niall chews his lip. "It's okay," he whispers.
"And how about making a fist? Can you do that for me?" She asks.
She guides him through several more movements before grinning at him.
"Well, I'd say your good as new! The x-rays show that it's healed nicely, your arm's still nice and straight to look at, and if there's no pain or stiffness, then you're all free to go," she tells them, and Niall smiles at that, pulling down the sleeve of his school jumper and looking up at Louis again.
His foster father grins at him, pecking his nose. "Bet you feel a good few pounds lighter, huh, little guy?" He asks, and Niall giggles, nodding as the man helps him slip back into his jacket.
He reaches for his cast afterwards, and Zodie laughs as she hands it to him.
"I take it you're planning to keep this as a trophy?" She asks, and Niall nods happily, though the cast smells a little bad now that he's holding it close.
He looks up at Louis again with a wrinkled nose. "Can you make it smell nicer though?"
Louis laughs at that, scooping Niall up again to sit on his hip. Niall smiles, wrapping his arms around the man's neck without the obstruction of the heavy weight wrapped around his right arm, keeping the cast pinned between his front and Louis' side.
"Maybe we'll put it in a box, hm?" He asks, and Niall contemplates this for a moment before he gives a nod of agreement.
"Uh-huh. M'I still gonna go to school now?" He asks, and Louis laughs at him again, face filled with warm as he looks at the boy.
"You might just be the first ever kid to actually want to go to school after an appointment."
*
When Niall steps out of the school gates at the end of the day, he walks beside Luke towards the crowd of parents and looks for Louis or Harry.
When he doesn't see them, he frowns, stepping closer to his best friend.
"I can't see my - um - Louis or Harry," he says quietly, and Luke frowns, lifting his head to scour the crowd in the same way.
"Oh," he breathes after a moment. "Maybe they're just running late. My Mom does that sometimes."
Niall chews his lip, anxiety growing in the depths of his stomach. Because he can't help but fear that, maybe, nobody is coming to get him. Maybe, his social worker will show up in an hour or two and tell him that, sadly, he's being moved somewhere else again.
He'd hoped this time would be different than all the rest -
"Niall!"
His head snaps up at the call of his name, and that's when he sees Zayn, pushing through to the front of the crowd, breath pluming out in a white cloud in the February chill as he calls his name again, one hand raised to wave at him.
He grins, turning to Luke. "Zayn's here!" He tells him excitedly, because he's never been picked up from school by Zayn before. His friend grins back at him, and they share a quick hug before saying their goodbyes.
When Niall runs into Zayn, he throws his arms around his legs and gives him a squeeze. Zayn laughs and ruffles his hair.
"Hey squirt. Happy to see me?" He asks, and Niall beams up at him, nodding.
He always loves seeing Zayn. He and Noelle come over several times each week, and they always make things fun. Zayn swings him around and gives him piggy backs, and Noelle always teaches him how to draw and stuff.
"Yeah!" He answers, then looks around. "But - but where's Louis and Harry?" He asks.
Zayn's smiles at him. "Well, Papa got called into work last minute and Dad was already at work, so they asked me to come get you. Thought we could hang out for a while before Papa comes to pick you up in a couple hours?"
Niall grins excitedly at that. "Am I gonna go to your house?" He asks, eyes wide.
"Well, I was thinking I'd take you to the tattoo place. Surprise Noelle since she's working at the minute?" Zayn says.
He nods, bouncing on his feet a little. "Yeah! Yeah please! That's so cool!" He says, clapping.
Zayn laughs, smiling softly at him before kneeling down with his back to him. "Hop on then, it's a ten minute walk and I know those little legs aren't gonna keep up with me," he teases.
Niall doesn't take it to heart. He giggles, hooking his arms around the boy's neck and clinging on as he stands. Zayn's hands move to secure his thighs on either side of his hips, turning to look over his shoulder at him.
"Comfy?" He asks, and Niall nods happily.
"Uh-huh. M'cited to see your tattoo place," he tells the older boy with a smile. "Can you give me one? Please? Just on my head?"
Zayn snorts as he begins to walk, rolling his eyes. "Just on your head, huh? As opposed to all the other less subtle places on your body?" He asks, making Niall giggle again. "Sorry, kid, I think Dad and Papa might just disown me if I have you a tattoo. Not before you're eighteen, that is."
Niall pouts, resting his chin on Zayn's shoulder, hands tangled together loosely against the young man's chest. "Oh. But that's..." he pauses to count in his head. "Ten whole years away."
"Sorry, buddy. As soon as those ten years are up, I'd be honoured to tattoo you," he says, then, bouncing the boy on his back a little, he frowns. "Hm. You feel lighter. Are you missing something? A leg, or an arm, maybe? Or your head?"
Niall giggles at that, shaking his head and holding out his right hand in front of them. "No, Zaynie! It's my cast! See, they chopped it off at the hospital today."
Zayn gasps. "Your arm!? They chopped it off!? How could they?"
He laughs breathlessly, wrapping his arms back around Zayn's neck. "Nooo. You're being silly! It's right here still, but - but they took my cast off, and now Pa - um - Louis' gonna put it in a box 'cause it's really smelly, and we're gonna keep it in my room," he tells him.
Zayn chuckles softly, nodding. "That seems like a good idea. Can't let everyone's artwork go to waste," he tells him.
Niall nods, resting his chin back down on Zayn's shoulder and yawning.
"Long day, huh?"
He nods. "Hmmm. An' I had PE today, we got to use the apparatus. I climbed allll the way up to the top of the ladders," he says, yawning again. "It was fun."
Zayn chuckles. "Sounds like it," he says.
When they get to the tattoo parlour, Niall is immediately mesmerised by the colourful place; there are templates of tattoos on the walls, and everything is painted in a way that Zayn tells him is supposed to look 'trippy', though Niall's not sure what that means.
Noelle is there, talking to somebody who's left arm is freshly tattooed and wrapped in clear plastic film. She waves the customer off before she even notices Zayn and Niall.
Niall all but throws himself off of Zayn's back and runs up to the purple haired girl to hug her. "Noelle!"
Noelle laughs, bending over and wrapping her arms around him gently. "Hey, big guy! How're you?" She asks.
Niall pulls back and grins at her. "I'm good! See, I got my cast off!" He holds his right arm out to show her.
She gasps dramatically, taking his arm and flexing it. "Oh my goodness! And look at that muscle, I can see it through your jacket!"
He giggles at that, allowing the girl to take his hand. She leads him over to the chair that the freshly tattooed man from before had been sitting in and then she lifts him up to sit on it too.
He grins. "Are you gonna give me a tattoo? Zayn said I gotta wait ten whole years," he adds with a pout.
Noelle chuckles as Zayn approaches them and sits down beside him, ruffling his hair. "I'm afraid he's right, buddy," she agrees with a sad expression, before she grins at him. "But. We don't have another client for a few hours, and I've got some special pens that are safe for your skin. Want some fake tattoos instead?"
Niall perks up at that, nodding in excitement. "Yeah! Yes please!"
Noelle ends up doodling all over his right arm whilst Zayn takes his left, the two young adults chatting to him and making him giggle frequently as they do so.
When Louis arrives to pick him up and bring him home, he shows off his new 'tattoos' excitedly and Louis admires them and tells him how good they look before telling him that he's definitely going to need a bath before school tomorrow.
Niall pouts, but makes sure to hug Zayn and Noelle extra tight before he leaves.
He thinks that, someday, the two of them will be really good parents too.
[2500 words]
Once again, completely unedited, so lemme know of any mistakes.
Next one will be a teeny bit angsty so enjoy the pure fluff while it lasts (:
Thanks for reading and lemme know your thoughts in the comments!