[A/N: Friendly reminder that this story was edited and character names have changed! If you are lost you may want to go back a chapter to refresh :)
Kolya is now Kieran
Noah is now Niall
Krish is now Cris
Scorpio is now Sergio]
Niall POV:
[Four years later]
"Niall!" Bailey whined. "Can I please just go to Cassie's house?"
I groaned, putting my pen down. "No, Bailey, you can't. I already told you that I'm working and Kieran's busy."
She groaned, flopping on the couch and pouting.
I sighed. "Lee, you're 11 years old. You understand that I have school and a job."
She whined, spreading out across the couch and sliding off.
I rolled my eyes, turning back to my work.
Bailey and Melanie just turned 11. Sergio didn't want to be my little Sergy anymore. She decided that he wanted to be a she and went by the name Melanie. She named herself after Mom, grew out her hair, wears what she wants to wear and doesn't let other kids tell her that she's a guy. I was proud of her.
Speaking of, Mel ran into the room behind her sister, holding up her phone. "Niall, when's Kieran and Zay's hockey game?"
I sighed, looking at the clock. Fuck, it's in an hour. It'd take an hour just to get inside. "Shoot. I forgot that it was today."
Both the girls stared up at me. "We're going, right?" Bails asked.
I nodded. "Of course we are, I promised we wouldn't miss it."
Both Kieran and Isaiah tried out for and got into a nearby hockey team for their age range as their old one was for high schoolers. It was their regional championship game today. We couldn't miss it.
—
I watched Kieran and Zay skating alongside each other, passing the puck back and forth, then scoring.
It was the middle of the game. Their team was being beaten up. The opposing team was physically beating them and no one really noticed but me and a few others, or they just didn't care.
The girls watched excitedly, cheering for Zay and Kieran. I was sure Cris would've come to see his boyfriend, but he couldn't find a fast enough way home from Indiana for it. Isaiah and Cris talked all the time, and Cris would text me to gush about his boyfriend very frequently. For Zay's birthday, Cris planned to come back and surprise him without telling him. Kieran and I already had it planned out how we'd keep Isaiah away from his house, while Cris and I snuck in and did the preparations.
When they called a small break, Kieran and Zay came over to the side of the ice by the penalty box, where their team was having a short water break. We were sitting behind the penalty box, and when they climbed in, Kieran leaned over the wall to smile at me with glittering eyes. He was enjoying himself, despite how bruised he was gonna be later.
I grinned back. "You guys okay? You're getting beat pretty bad."
Zay shrugged. "It's not too bad." He gave Melanie's hair a ruffle as the girls excitedly spoke rapid fire at him.
Kieran nodded. "We can handle it," both of them turned, hearing their coach calling for the team to end their break.
"We've got to get back," Isaiah sighed. "See you."
Kieran smiled brightly, blowing me a kiss. He was ecstatic that I was there to watch him, I could see it all over his face. "I love you."
"Kick some ass for me, my love," I smiled gently. Even under his bright smile, I could see his wince. He was hurting, but he was having fun.
The game started again, resuming its brutality. I watched the others take plenty of beatings that made me wince in sympathy.
The girls at my side were cheering excitedly, pouring all their energy into their cheers and bouncing. They wanted Kieran to win.
Kieran and Isaiah both flew past us, drawing major cheers from Bailey and Melanie, and battled one of the players of the other team for the puck. Ultimately they won, but Kieran took an elbow to the face through his mask. I had to cover my own nose for fear of it hurting in sympathy.
From under his mask I could see blood start pouring out his nose. He stumbled back and hit the ice. A few whistles blew but he waved it all off and got back up.
"Take care of it," I grumbled impatiently. "The longer you let it sit the more it'll bleed."
"Kier is so stubborn," Bailey muttered. "He might not."
"He will if I give him the look," I said, staring at him.
I saw Kieran meet my eyes. I gave him the look he knew all too well and he reluctantly took off his mask when the medic came over. He set his eyes on me the whole time the medic pulled him off the ice and attempted to stop the bleeding. I tried to say "fix your nose, damn it, it's better than dying," through my eyes but I didn't think he caught that last part.
Meanwhile, the game continued with Isaiah as the top scorer—naturally. The guy was a beast, and not only that, but he knew how to avoid the other team to avoid injuries. He just spun around them with almost unrealistic grace, until a player kicked their skate out and tripped him. He lost the puck to the other team and they managed to score.
They kept doing everything they could to keep Isaiah from scoring, including hurting him. I had to clench my fists around the seat to keep from losing it. Oh...Cris was going to be pissed when he saw how beat up Zay was.
The opposing team scored about six points on us before Kieran finally came back out. His nose was taped, bruised and red but he looked ready to go, which was good.
He high-fived Isaiah as he passed him and got into position.
—
The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game. We lost by 2 points, but I was just glad my boys were okay, they were getting beaten up pretty bad.
Bailey, Mel and I met Isaiah and Kieran outside the stadium after the awards ceremony. I wrapped my arms around them both, smiling.
"I'm proud of you guys," I said. "Champions or not, you played amazing and I love you both."
"Awe, love you too Niall," Isaiah said, snickering and returning my hug. "I'm stealing your boyfriend."
"You can steal the girls while Kieran and I go out to eat," I said, patting his chest. "We haven't had a date night in a while, what better time than when Kieran's face is bruised and bloody and I'm wearing joggers and converse?"
Kieran smiled. "I planned for my day, your weekend clothes are on you."
Isaiah rolled his eyes, but nudged Kieran's arm with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Of course you did."
—
"Does my face really look that bad?" He asked, feeling the bridge of his nose.
"No, you can just tell that you were hit in the face recently," I said, smiling through my food. I could tell he was a little self conscious about it. I grabbed his hand, just to hold it. He smiled at me, kissing my fingers. "I have ibuprofen in my car if it hurts."
He returned my smile and shook his head. "It's fine."
After we ate, we walked out to the lookout over the water just a few blocks away. The sunset reflected off the still water, making it literally look like a mirror. I leaned my elbows against the railing and rested my head on Kieran's shoulder.
"This is nice," he sighed. "We haven't really had time to do this recently."
"Yeah." I grinned, kissing the top of my head, "I missed when it would be just us."
There was a long, comfortable silence. "Hey Niall."
"Hm?"
I looked up at him as he stood up straight, taking my hands. I looked up at him, he held a gentle smile and warm expression. He said nothing, just reaching into his pocket.
My heart jumped into my throat as soon as the thought crossed my mine. I wasn't able to say anything. He knelt in front of me, smiling gently. My heart was beating so fast I thought it'd explode. He opened the box.
"Niall, will you marry me?"
I smiled wide, unable to reel it in the slightest bit. "Yes," I finally managed, wrapping my arms around him. "I'll marry you, you idiot."
I felt his arms wrap around my waist in a tight hug, returning mine. I buried my face in his shoulder blissfully. I could feel his heartbeat going wild, and I could imagine he felt mine beating just as fast. I kept grinning dumbly as he slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me deeply.
"I was hoping we'd have won the championship before this," he said, holding my shoulders and watching me. "But what better time than when my face is bruised and bloody and you're in joggers and converse?"
I laughed, grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him down for a kiss. Asshole.
—
[A lot of this story was supposed to be my experience with grief and healing! I hope you all enjoyed it especially the edited story!!]