Liam
He was still curled up in his spot on Niall's sofa when he woke the next morning, momentarily forgetting about the night before and wondering where the hell he was before he remembered, sitting up and stretching, wincing and rubbing his neck as he sat up. At some point in the night, someone, Niall, he presumed, had draped a blanket over him, the blanket falling to the floor before he realised, picking it up and draping it over the arm of the sofa before he stood up and yawned, swearing as he stumbled into the edge of the sofa.
It took a moment for the pain to subside and for Liam to be able to stumble around blearily, searching for his phone to check the time before he went in search of coffee, hoping Niall wouldn't mind, or at the very least would understand, as he opened up random cupboards, struggling to remember where Niall kept his coffee and mugs.
Eventually, once he'd made coffee and had managed to wake up a bit, he quietly went into Chloe's room to check on her, finding her sleeping in a completely different position to how she'd gone to sleep the night before, no longer curled up on her side but having rotated so she her feet hung over the side, her pillow at such an angle that she was at risk of falling out of bed. He went and gently lifted her feet back on to the bed and moved her so she wasn't about to fall before leaving the room, smiling at the sight of the seven-year-old as he shut the door behind himself.
He finished his coffee and wandered back into the kitchen, flicking the kettle on and grabbing another mug whilst he waited, making two mugs of coffee before he went and gently knocked on the door to Niall's room, struggling with both of the mugs and hissing as coffee sloshed over the sides, knocking again before he gently pushed the door open, hesitating for a second as he saw that Niall was still asleep before he entered, setting the second mug of coffee down on Niall's bedside table before he left, wondering whether he should simply call it quits and go, or if, maybe, just maybe, he should stay and wait for Niall to wake up and then talk it through with him.
Last night, he'd wanted to go after Niall, wanted to fix things and tell him—Well, he'd wanted to tell him how he felt, why he hadn't wanted to tell him or even think about leaving, he just hadn't been able to find the words. But that had been his plan, why he'd gone after Niall and why he'd stayed over, sleeping on what had to be the world's most uncomfortable sofa. It was also why he chose to stay just then, taking his own mug of coffee and retreating back to the kitchen, turning on the radio and trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do next.
Chloe was the next one to wake up, padding through to the living room in he pyjama's, giving Liam a tired smile as she dropped onto the sofa, grabbing the TV remote and pulling the blanket he'd woken up with over herself before she even spoke to him. "Where's Daddy?"
"He's still asleep, Chlo. I think he might've been awake earlier, but I can't say I'm too sure...did you sleep alright, poppet?" The pet name slipped out without Liam meaning for it to, and he bit his lip, hiding behind his mug of coffee for a moment, worrying whether Chloe would care that he'd called her using the nickname Niall tended to call her before he wondered if Chloe would actually be okay with it, pushing both thought's to one side as Chloe didn't answer, prompting him to repeat himself. "Chlo? Did you sleep alright? Is everything okay?"
Chloe shrugged, staring at the TV for a moment and playing with the edge of the blanket before she looked over at Liam, frowning almost imperceptibly at him before she said, "I thought....I thought I heard Daddy at some point in the night, heard him when he was upset. You told me everything was okay, that it would be alright, but Daddy's still upset."
Muttering something that sounded like it could have been a swear word, Chloe wasn't really sure if it had been or not, Liam took another sip of his drink, making a mental note to give Chloe more credit as he looked over at her, trying to think of a suitable reply and struggling, especially since fobbing the seven-year-old off with a lie probably wouldn't work, it wasn't working for him now, after last night, and the truth might...not be entirely appropriate or easy to explain, thinking for a moment before he answered her. "I know what I said, Chlo. Everything will be alright. I promise you I will fix things and I mean it. It's just...a little tricky."
"Tricky." Still sounding unconvinced, Chloe hid under the blanket, grudgingly making room for Liam as he made to sit next to her, both of them watching or at least pretending to watch an old episode of The Simpsons that was on, Chloe's demeanour slowly relaxing as the episode went on so that she was curled into Liam's side, sharing the blanket with him.
The two of them were halfway through an old episode of Pokémon when Niall appeared in the doorway, clutching the mug Liam had left for him and making a face at the taste of cold coffee before he cleared his throat his throat. "Morning, Chlo. Did you sleep alright, poppet?"
Forcing himself to smile as Chloe nodded, Niall ran a hand through his hair, glancing down at the mug in his hand and back at Liam before he began to speak, chasing his mind halfway through the sentence and trailing off. "Liam...you're still here. I thought you would've...never mind..."
Liam then muted the TV, ignoring Chloe as she protested, giving Niall a tentative smile and shifting over to make room for him on the sofa, trying to ignore the accusation in Niall's tone and reminding himself as to why Niall was probably allowed to make such comments, deliberately keeping his tone light as he said, "Nope. Still here. And...if I'm not intruding, I'd like to stay. At least until we...we talk."
Nodding, Niall was well aware of the look on Chloe's face, her smile rapidly fading as she watched Niall and Liam, any fight leaving him as he sat down with Liam and Chloe, smiling softly as Chloe curled into Liam's side and he wrapped his arm around her, turning and paying attention to what they were watching before he snorted, unable to contain the brief flash of laughter at the realisation that Chloe had gotten Liam to watch Pokémon, a cartoon Liam had flat out refused to watch when it was on TV when they were kids, sitting back and taking a sip of his coffee and wincing at the last before he reached over and took Liam's mug, helping himself to the mug of hot coffee and ignoring Liam's shout of protest.
"Hey! That was mine."
"I think you'll find that it's technically my coffee." Elbowing Liam playfully, Niall handed the mug back over, sighing dramatically and smirking as Liam gave the mug right back to him, grumbling as Niall finished the last of the coffee. "You're lucky you're cute, Ni."
"Oh, I'm cute, am I?" Raising an eyebrow, Niall didn't push Liam away as he pulled him closer, both of them sharing a smile as Chloe huffed, reaching for the remote and turning the volume up on the TV, trying to drown out the two of them, Liam shaking his head at Niall before saying, "You know you are."
They spent a good chunk of the remainder of the morning like that, the three of them squished together on the sofa, watching cartoons and enjoying spending the Sunday morning together, both Niall and Liam happy to let Chloe choose what they watched and decide what they were having for breakfast, the seven-year-old choosing pancakes for breakfast again, a meal it was rapidly becoming clear that Liam could not cook without either burning the pancakes or accepting help. They eventually ended up with plates of edible pancakes, three attempts of ruining perfectly good pancake batter before they ended up with non-charred, non-lumpy and non-rubbery pancakes, that they ate whilst watching whatever show Chloe had chosen.
Eventually, though, the temporary peace, truce, whatever you wanted to call it, ended and Niall' smile faded as he and Liam ended up sitting opposite each other on the sofa, both of them trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. Chloe had been allowed out to play with the boys from downstairs, giving them the privacy to argue, talk, and fix things without having to worry about her hearing or the two of them upsetting her somehow. So far, though, they hadn't done much talking, the easiness of earlier in the morning long gone as Niall became the first one to break the silence. "You're leaving for tour in two months. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I- I didn't know how..." Swallowing, Liam bit his lip, trying to force himself to get his shit together and tell Niall the truth, hesitating and deliberating over how he was going to say what he needed to say before he finally looked up at Niall. "I should have said something, I know. I really should have. It's just...time got away from me and, and I didn't like to think about tour. I don't like to think about going away from you and Chloe, not for so long. We've had this tour planned for ages, but then I met you and found out about Chloe...it's not something I want, to be any from you guys."
Pausing for a second, Liam looked away from Niall and glanced down at his hands, resisting the urge to pick at a hangnail, taking a second to think for a second before he continued. "I should have said something, but whenever I tried...it felt wrong. I kind of stopped even thinking about telling you and just...you know. It was stupid, not to tell you, but...it wasn't me planning to get away, Niall. It really wasn't. And it wasn't like I was just going to go away and not come back to you...I'm really sorry, really fucking sorry."
"Okay..." Niall said slowly, blinking as he looked up at Liam, thinking though what he'd said before he nodded. "It's okay. I...I get it, I guess. I...I'm sorry. I...way overreacted. It's just...it felt so much like before, for a moment and I meant what I said...when we first, when we decided to start over again. I couldn't do it again, not again. There's no way I could, not if you hurt me again. It felt so much like before that...you know. I just—"
"I know." Shifting so he was sat closer to Niall, Liam wrapped his arm around him, pressing a kiss to Niall's temple and letting the two of them fall into silence again, both of them letting it last for a while before Liam broke it, throwing caution to the wind and forcing himself to say the very not-so-simple word he'd struggled with until then, meaning it as he said, "I love you. I- I wasn't sure how to say it before now, but I love you. And Chloe. I love you."
Biting his lip, Niall couldn't help but smile, ignoring the blush that crept over his face as he leant in closer towards Liam, leaning in and kissing him before he smiled again. "You do?"
"I do. I love you. That's okay, yeah?" Kissing Niall again, Liam reached down and linked their fingers together, smiling as Niall nodded before reaching in and kissing Liam back.
Niall didn't have to think about it, think about what those words meant and how much significance they held, what saying them meant and would mean for them, looking up and giving Liam another, softer smile before he said, "I love you too."
Liam smiled again at that, reaching forward and taking hold of the front of Niall's t-shirt, pulling him closer before he leant in and kissed Niall, a slow kiss that lasted what seemed like forever and ended with the two of them laying on Niall's sofa, Niall pinned beneath Liam, reaching up for him and whining when Liam pulled away. Kissing Niall, another long, lingering kiss, Liam rested his forehead against Niall's, smiling again as he said, "I love you. Again."
Niall didn't have to question what Liam meant by the 'again', knowing Liam well enough to understand that he was talking about before, when they were teenagers, before Chloe and before everything. Sure, it was different, Niall loved Liam differently now to how he'd loved him before, back then it had been an adventure, his first adventure that he hadn't thought would ever end. Now, now it was more deliberately, slower than fifteen, sixteen-year-old him had fallen for Liam, no longer expecting it to be one impossible adventure, to be perfect in a way that was unattainable. Regardless of the differences between times, he loved Liam. Again.
And he told him so, between kisses, repeating Liam's own words in a quiet tone, looking up at Liam to see him smile softly before he pressed a kiss to Niall's temple.
******
They were still laid like that when Chloe eventually came back, the seven-year-old huffing as she dropped onto the rapidly made space for her on the sofa, wrinkling her nose at Liam and Niall before she shrugged, proceeding to complain to Niall about the boys from downstairs and how they wouldn't let her play football with them. "It's not fair, Daddy. I mean, you lose one football onto the roof of the building and they don't let you play anymore."
"Chlo...it was two footballs, poppet." Hiding his smile as Chloe huffed again, Niall ran a hand through her hair, tugging on the end of her ponytail as he made sympathetic noises, looking over Chloe's head to see Liam smiling, giving Niall a questioning look to which Niall mouthed, "I'll tell you later."
"But still. It's not fair." Jumping up, Chloe frowned, obviously disgruntled that Niall wasn't being as sympathetic as she would've liked, running out of the room and leaving Niall and Liam sat there, half-stunned. "Wow. Is one of these things that is a big deal, or is it a big deal where it's not actually a big deal?"
"It's not a big deal, really. It'll be a few weeks and then they'll allow her to play with them again. It was the same after she persuaded them to trade her bouncy ball for their skateboard." Niall didn't seem ruffled by Chloe, shaking his head as he heard her open her door and shout, 'It is a big deal, Daddy. They won't let me play."
"Chlo..." Standing up, Niall ran a hand through his hair, about to head towards her room when Liam caught him by the waist, pulling him back down onto the sofa. "I'll go, if that's okay?"
"Knock yourself out. Maybe she'll find you more sympathetic." Sounding like he'd faced the same problem with Chloe before, Niall gave Liam a smile, gesturing for him to go ahead and leaning back against the cushions as Liam went. It took a second for Liam to pop his head back around the door, a querying look on his face as he asked, "Um...what exactly do I say to her?"
"Whatever makes her happy. Improvise, Li." Shaking his head, Niall couldn't help but smile as Liam nodded slowly, standing up and pulling Liam towards him before he kissed him again. "Just go with it. She'll almost definitely throw in a curveball that you won't see coming."
And, with that in mind, Liam pulled away from Niall, doubling back and stealing one more kiss before he headed towards Chloe's room, gently knocking on the door before entering to find Chloe sprawled out on her bed, running her fingers through the fur of a bear that looked all too familiar, it taking Liam a second to realise that it was Niall's old bear, his old childhood toy, and it taking him even longer to realise Chloe was crying and using it to hide her face.
"Chloe?"
"Go away." Her voice muffled by the bear, Chloe stiffened as Liam didn't listen, sitting on the edge of her bed and watching her for a second before he shook his head. "No. Not until you tell me why you're upset."
Remaining silent for a while, Chloe didn't look up at Liam, sniffling before she muttered, "The boys wouldn't let me play."
"That's what you're upset about?" It was only after he'd spoken that Liam realised he probably shouldn't have sounded so surprised, giving Chloe an apologetic smile as she sat up and glared at him. "Yes. Because they're supposed to be my friends but they're not letting me play anymore. It was an accident, both times were..."
"I'm sure it'll blow over, Chlo. I mean, if you apologised, both times, then there's nothing more you can do. Give them a few days and they'll probably let you play with them again." Trying not to sound as unsure as he felt, Liam bit his lip as Chloe stared up at him, mulling over his answer, relaxing a little as Chloe nodded slowly. "Should I have apologised?"
Raising an eyebrow, Liam stared at the seven-year-old for a moment, giving her a small smile as she shrugged at him before he tried to answer her. "If you didn't, you probably should have, poppet. It might have upset them less."
Chloe seems to take on board his advice, thinking for a second before she glanced up at him with a look that made him feel like he was about to be put on trial. "Did you apologise to Daddy?"
And there was the curveball.
It took Liam a second to recover enough to answer her, struggling to past his initial surprise before he nodded, giving Chloe another smile as he said, "I did, Chlo. I did. And...I told you I'd fix it, didn't I?"
"You said it would be tricky. If you fixed it that quickly, it can't have been that hard." Chloe seemed to be an entirely different child to the little girl he'd come in to find sobbing on her bed less than five minutes ago, any evidence of her tears gone as she stared at him, not giving him time to answer before she asked, "Why was Daddy upset anyway?"
"That's...difficult to explain, Chlo." Struggling to come up with an appropriate answer, much like he had earlier, Liam was about to say something, a really good answer he hadn't quite figured out right then, when Chloe's bedroom door opened and Niall entered, shrugging at Liam as he stared unabashedly at Niall before he answered for Liam. "I was upset because your dad's a bit of an idiot at times. But it's okay now, Chlo. It's sorted. Fixed."
"Why's Liam an idiot?" Still not satisfied with that answer, Chloe shifted over to make room for Niall, pulling a face as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, gently tugging on the end of her ponytail before he looked over at Liam, who raised an eyebrow at the unspoken question Niall shot his way, both of them only looking back at Chloe as she gently kicked Liam to get his attention. "Why's Liam an idiot? Or a bit of one?"
"Because I didn't tell your dad something, Chlo. Something very important. But he knows now. And he knows that I was just being stupid, not telling him. Doesn't mean I'm going anywhere, though, not permanently." Looking over at Niall as he said the last sentence, Liam gave him a brief smile before he looked back at Chloe, waiting to see her reaction.
"What didn't you tell him? It had to be important, 'very important', you said, so what was it?" Not caring as Liam sighed as she asked him yet another question, Chloe looked between him and Niall expectantly, shifting so she was facing Niall as he began to speak. "Chlo...you remember what I told you, about what Liam does for a living, yeah?"
Waiting for Chloe to nod, Niall looked over at Liam and met his gaze, his eyes never leaving Liam's as he said, "Well...Liam's going on tour, with Louis, Harry and Zayn, for work in a couple of months. He'll be away for a while and he leaves really quite soon, and he hadn't told me. That's what he hadn't told me and why I was upset. But it's okay. And he's not going away and not coming back. It's for work, Chlo."
"I should have told your dad sooner, that's why he was upset at me. But it's fixed, Chlo. And I am coming back, I swear. You guy can probably even come and see me on tour, if your dad thinks that would be okay..." Shifting so he sat next to Niall, Liam reached over and took his hand, none of them caring that all three of them were squished onto the same part of Chloe's bed, both Liam and Niall looking over at Chloe as she nodded. "You...you're leaving?"
"Not for a couple of months, Chlo, but yeah..." Almost falling off of the bed in surprise as Chloe claimed over Niall to tackle Liam with a hug, Liam grabbed onto to Niall to keep from falling off before he hugged Chloe back, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her forehead before he said, "I'll be coming back, though, coming home to you guys. I love you, Chlo, I'll be coming back."
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And she's back with yet another update....
And it's fluffy.
So...I've noticed you guys don't seem to be liking chapter forty-one as much as the others...is there anything specific or something that needs fixing (grammar, etc.)...hopefully you guys will like this chapter better.
Another update may take a bit longer this time as I'm on away again for the bank holiday weekend but we shall see....
Thoughts on the chapter?