Liam
"Hey, Li. It's me...I know you're busy but...I need you to help me out. It's not too urgent, just call me back. Before three-thirty, preferably, if you could."
******
"Li...I know I said it wasn't too urgent, but could you please answer your phone? Call me back, yeah?"
******
"Liam. It's kind of urgent now. It's about Chloe. I really need to actually talk to you, but if you could be free pick her up from school I'd really appreciate it. I...It's kind of complicated down here and I can't, and Jessica has Friday's off now and is in Manchester. I really need you to call me back, so answer your bloody phone."
******
Unplugging his iPod, Liam moved away from the treadmill, stretching out his shoulder and wincing at the soreness in his muscles, deciding to skip the rest of his usual workout and heading to the changing room, dropping his iPod, water bottle and the shirt he'd earlier discarded onto a bench before he entered the shower, trusting that, in the exclusive gym his apartment building provided, none of his belongings would go walkabout.
It took him a while to be done showering, spending what could possibly be considered to be slightly too long under the hot water, taking full advantage of having the showers and changing rooms to himself, wandering back through to the changing rooms after a while and gathering up his possessions, nearly dropping them when he opens his bag to see the number of missed calls he had from Niall. Waving away the building's concierge as he ran over to assist him, Liam held his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he listened to Niall's voicemails, frowning as the messages became more and more pressing.
He eventually called Niall back, faltering for a second as Niall answered, sounding extremely frazzled. "What?"
"Is this a bad time, Ni? I can call you back." Struggling to balance the phone and reach down to close the lift doors, Liam just managed to refrain from swearing as he dropped his running trainers, sighing as he bent down to retrieve them, humming as Niall apologised. "It's...as good as it's going to get. Sorry, Li. It's just a bad time. A customer threatened the student we have working behind the till and...long story short, the police are here and I'm holding down the fort until my boss gets here. It's why I'm calling, actually."
Almost having a mini heart attack at Niall's words, Liam swallowed a couple of times, hitting the stop button on the lift and leaning against the wall of the lift before he asked, "The police? Are you okay?"
"It's just procedure. A kid didn't like being asked to put the headphones he was trying to shoplift back and decided to threaten the girl behind the till. I'm fine. I'm just going to be tied up here for a bit. Probably won't be able to pick Chlo up for half three, which is why I really need you to help me out." The line fell silent for a second before Niall let out a soft breath. "Really, Li, I'm fine. Most interesting day here in a while."
Letting the lift resume, Liam sighed, shifting his bag of gym gear from one hand to the other so he could hold the phone, taking a second to let the sudden tightness in his chest relax and nodding before he realised that Niall couldn't see him. "Okay. Yeah, of course, I'll pick Chloe up. I'm supposed to have a call but I can rearrange things...this might sound like a stupid question, but what school does she go to?"
"I'll text you the address. Just stand in the playground near the climbing frame and try not to look too sketchy. She'll come running out, looking for me or Jessica, but she won't be hard to miss. You may want to get there a bit early, they tend to let them go slightly before half past on Fridays." The gratitude in Niall's voice went unnoticed as Liam tried to remember everything he'd just been told, struggling with all his stuff as the lift doors opened and heading towards his apartment as he repeated everything Niall had just said. "And I just wait for her in the playground? Don't have to go in and collect her or anything?"
"No. I'd actively avoid going in to collect Chloe. Her teacher is scary and will undoubtedly try to question you about the next trip payment." Niall let out what sounded like a quiet laugh, someone talking behind him in the background of the call prompting him to wrap things up. "Anyway, thank you, Li. Can you take her home after you collect her, my place or whatever, just don't bring her round here. I have no idea what time I'll finish today, but I'll call you. I have to go, Li."
And with that, Niall hung up, leaving Liam staring at his phone for a second, biting his lip before he made his way into his apartment, dropping his trainers and bag to the floor as Loki greeted him by the door. He dropped down to the dog's level, scratching at his ears for a moment before he stood, heading into the kitchen. He'd just turned his coffee maker when his phone buzzed, the address of Chloe's school appearing on screen. He had no idea where it was, somewhere near their flat in Brixton, he presumed, but his sat nav would be able to find it.
******
Primary school playgrounds were hell. Liam decided as much as he walked into the playground and began to struggle through the swarm of mothers, pushchairs and toddlers to where Niall had told him to wait, muttering apologies whenever he pushed against anyone or upset a gaggle of mums, shoving his hands in his pockets and trying not to feel as out of place as he obviously looked.
He was getting slightly fed up with the stares and dirty looks being thrown his way by the time children started appearing out of classrooms, tugging on the end of his sleeves and hoping that he was being stared for a different reason than he suspected, shifting his weight from one foot to the other whilst he was waiting for Chloe to appear.
It had been years since he'd last been stood in a playground, the last time had probably been when he was the same age as some of the kids leaving classrooms, and he had no idea what you were supposed to do when waiting for your daughter to emerge for one of the many classrooms. Niall's only instruction had been to try and 'not look too sketchy' but he had a horrible feeling he wasn't doing a very good job of pulling that off. But just as he was pondering whether or not he should maybe head inside and introduce himself to one of the teachers, Chloe came running out, noticeable even from a distance, her hair flying all over the place as she headed over to him, lugging her school bag behind her and trailing her coat along the ground.
It took Chloe a moment to spot Liam, glancing around in confusion for a brief second before she shrugged and ran over to him, giving him a hug as best as she could as he gave her a surprised smile. "Chlo..."
"Liam! Where's Daddy? Or Jess?" Chloe let Liam take her bag, absentmindedly dragging her coat sleeve though a puddle before Liam noticed and took it from her somewhat gingerly, giving her another, proper smile as he took her hand and let her lead him back to the gate, ignoring the other parents and focusing on Chloe as he said, "Niall- Dad's having problems at work and can't pick you up, and I was told Jessica doesn't collect you on Fridays now anyway. Is that a problem? I could always leave you here..."
Chloe let out an outraged gasp at that last part, about to say something in return when she looked up at Liam and saw the smile on his face and realised he had been teasing. "It's great, really...do I get to see Loki then, since it's you picking me up?"
Liam sighed, prompting Chloe to giggle as she looked up at him to see he was still smiling, swinging their hands as they headed towards his car, Liam listening as Chloe began to chatter on about her day, looking up at Liam every so often to check that he was still listening. "...and then we got to pick our own art topic, and Mrs Evans is letting me do about dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, Liam, Dinosaurs. Like the T-Rex and Raptors."
"That sounds awesome, Chlo. Is it a work at home and school project, or just school?" Helping Chloe into his RangeRover, Liam continued to smile, dropping Chloe's bag and coat into the footwell as he got into the car, a brief frown crossing his face as Chloe shrugged, seeming less enthusiastic than she had moments ago. "Chlo?"
Chloe bit her lip, playing with the strap of her seatbelt for a second until Liam reached over and strapped her in, taking away one of her old distractions. "It's supposed to be a school and home project, for us to do over the holidays. But miss said we don't have to do it at home if we don't have the right supplies."
"And you don't?" Liam asked gently, looking over at Chloe to see her shake her head, reaching over to ruffle her hair and smiling as she protested, pushing his hand away and reaching up in an attempt to retaliate. Running a hand through his hair, Liam waited until Chloe was settled back into the passenger seat to ask, "What materials do you need? Paints? Paper?"
"Powder paints, for the home bit. And proper arty pencils. I'm gonna draw a brachiosaurus. Did you know it took me all afternoon to say that right? Toby helped me. His new sisters like dinosaurs and his new dad makes him play with them. Then I'm painting a pack of velociraptors—Toby helped me with that one too—and I get to maybe even make one from clay back in school." Chloe smiled again, looking up at Liam who gave her a grin.
"Paints, pencils, and paper, right?"
******
Liam's apartment was now in chaos. The immaculate kitchen, kept tidy by him and the cleaner who came by three times a week, was now covered in paint powder, splashes of paint, and sheets of paper all covered in strange, green, blob-like creatures that sort of resembled dinosaurs, most of which were actually Liam's. Chloe's art skills far surpassed his, a fact supported by the display of far superior dinosaurs now proudly decorating his fridge.
After stopping off on their way back to his flat, Liam and Chloe had spent the afternoon trying out the paints and art supplies he'd bought for her, both of them trying their hand at painting, the few hours they spent mixing paints and trying to create a convincing image of a brachiosaurus resulting in the current state of Liam's kitchen.
He didn't mind the mess, though. It was nice, in a way. A reminder of how much fun he and Chloe had had. Okay, so he'd be scrubbing the white tiles clean for days and finding grey powder paint in every corner of every surface for weeks, but it was nice. For the first time since he'd probably moved in, his kitchen looked like it was being used and had a purpose, something asides from making coffee and housing his supply of ready meals.
Chloe seemed to be having fun, even though she'd since given up on actually painting and was trying to coax Loki into dipping his paw into the paint so she could make prints. She succeeded after a while and sheets of paper littering the kitchen floor began to be covered in paw prints. Chloe's own footprints then joined them and she managed to persuade Liam to join her and the Husky.
It only contributed to the chaos more, but at some point Niall arrived, letting himself in after Liam had shouted for him to, both him and Chloe being preoccupied with containing a wriggling Loki, the dog eager to leave and investigate the door and about to leave a trail of green paw prints that would have stained the flooring when Chloe captured him.
The look on Niall's face when he joined them in the kitchen was priceless.
He walked in, gingerly stepping past Chloe's bag and coat, both of which had been abandoned in the hallway by the kitchen door, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Chloe, green paint smeared across her hands and bare feet and face, stomping over pieces of paper strewn across Liam's floor. He frowned when he saw Liam, standing right next to Chloe, lifting one foot to reveal a perfect print formed on the paper, making Chloe giggle. Loki took the opportunity then to break free from Chloe's hold and run up to Niall, jumping at him and leaving green paw prints on his jeans. It took a second for the frown on Niall's face to fade and for him to burst out laughing instead, forgetting the stresses of his day as he took in the sight of Chloe and Liam together.
"Wow, you two. It looks like you've had fun."
******
It was only hours later, after Niall had been roped into joining Liam and Chloe with their painting and they'd managed to clean up the majority of the mess, sort out dinner and persuade Chloe that it was, in fact, bedtime, that Niall and Liam were able to collapse onto his sofa together, Liam raising an eyebrow but choosing not to say anything as Niall curled up against him, hiding his face in Liam's shirt. They laid like that for a while, Niall hiding his face against Liam's chest, Liam gently running a hand across Niall's back, waiting until Niall wanted to talk.
He startled Liam when he sat up, his earlier smile gone as he ran a hand tiredly over his face, biting his lip as he asked Liam, "Have you ever had one of those days?"
Liam simply shook his head at Niall, knowing that any answer he could possibly say wouldn't hold a candle to what Niall wanted to say, instead, reaching over and pressing a kiss to Niall's temple as he let out a quiet sigh. "At least he only threatened her. God, we deal with shoplifting all the time, usually ten-year-olds trying to show off, but...I was sure he meant it."
The look on Niall's face softened for a second as Liam pulled him in for a hug, having no idea what Niall meant by that but not liking the sound of it regardless. Liam sighed as Niall shrugged, pulling away from Liam and running a hand through his hair before shrugging again. "Not the first time, though. Could have been worse, I suppose."
Liam reached in and kissed Niall at that, not knowing what to say but pulling him in closer, letting Niall push him so that he was laid underneath Niall on the couch, the two of them only separating for Niall to ask, "Can we go to bed?"
__________________________________
And that's forty-four.
It's been a while, I know, and, as usual, you have my apologies. But life's a bitch so I place all blame on her. (And on my alarming addiction to Oreos. They distract me.)
But it's an update. And it's quite fluffy. And we're getting closer and closer to it being Christmas.
I've also realised that this fic is getting longer and longer every day. There's still three-ish chapters until Christmas and I have so much more planned for this fic. I'm mean like another fifty-ish chapters.
I hope that's okay with you guys, as it looks like we're gonna be here for a hella long time.
Thoughts? (On the chapter, on the ever-increasing length of this fic, on life. On whatever.)