Christmas 2010
"Hey, Niall. Less of that."
"Less of what?" Looking away from his phone as his cousin chastised him, Niall pasted a smile on his face, shifting himself out of her boyfriend's way with some difficulty as Reece pushed past, carrying their new baby so the infant could be placed in the temporary cot set up by the Christmas tree.
"You know what, come on. Cheer up, yeah? Just for today. Tomorrow you can go back to hating him, and being miserable, but not today. Not on Christmas." Taking his phone from him, his cousin pulled him in for a gentle if slightly awkward hug. For saying he was just five months along, Niall had a similar sized baby bump to the one Missy had sported when she was seven months, and that made pretty much everything more difficult.
He gave her a grudging space, running a hand through his hair before he nodded, joining her and Reece and baby Matthew by the tree, the smile on his face becoming a little less forced as they put a CD into the player, all the classic Christmas songs beginning to play softly in the background as presents were shared around, the little velvet box Niall had seen Reece carrying around for weeks being produced from somewhere, causing his cousin to let out a cry of delight.
Niall ended up cuddling Matthew as Missy and Reece got lost together for a moment, the ring distracting his cousin for the best part of an hour before they let the other festivities resume, unwrapping presents left for Matthew that the uninterested three-month-old slept through, aww-ing over onesies and plush toys that were gifts from Missy's other family and friends before it seemed to be Niall's turn.
He was left looking on in confusion as he opened an envelope containing details of a studio apartment for rent, and a lease already filled out in his name, a gift from his cousin that, 'wasn't a message telling him to get out, God, no,' but was an opportunity, 'there whenever he wanted it, an apartment already covered with a deposit and first month's rent paid.'
Left speechless, Niall could only think of the possibilities such a gift meant for him, the proverbial step in the right direction, providing him with a way to start actually sorting out the future, which was something he hadn't really thought about doing. It was more than generous, really, considering Missy and Reece had already done so much for him, and it left him smiling, properly, genuinely, hopeful for the first time since his parents had called, only to ask him to return his key.
Taking Niall's silence to be a bad thing, Missy began tripping over herself to explain. "It's a flat that belongs to a friend of ours, we just thought you might want your own space, for your own family. You don't have to go, don't think I'm abandoning you, you know Reece and I aren't planning to move close to his family in the States for months, we just thought-"
Waving away her doubts, Niall pulled her in for anther slightly difficult hug, tears of his own threatening to spill over as he was presented with another gift. "This- This...I can't."
"It's a gift, Niall. Take it. It's from our friends, and your brother, too." Well used to emotions outburst by this point, Reece handed over a box of tissues as he spoke, a faint smile on his face as Niall held the two hundred pound gift card for Babies R Us in his hands, staring at it as though it was the rarest, most precious thing he'd ever seen.
In a way, it was. Like the flat, it was a means of independence, preparing for the future, and making it so that he'd be able to land on his feet, get his life back on track without living with his cousin and cramping her and her family forever.
Receiving another hug, Missy pressed a faint kiss to his cheek and grinned at her younger cousin as she said, "Happy Christmas."
******
Christmas 2011
"It's great, Mum. Really. Chloe loves it, won't stop playing with it. Happiest she's been all day. Yeah, speak again soon."
Hanging up the phone, Niall pulled a face as he looked down at his daughter, the rattle his parents had sent her discarded on the floor, forgotten as the eight-month-old occupied herself with chewing on and playing with the wrapping paper instead. Dropping to the floor so he was sat opposite Chloe, Niall gave her a fond smile, setting his phone down on the floor and picking up a piece of wrapping paper, one of the scraps his daughter had discarded, twirling it through his fingers as he absentmindedly watched Chloe playing.
His phone call to his parents had definitely been a lie, Chloe, as predicted, had been more thrilled with the wrapping paper than the few gifts Niall had managed to sort for her, and the gift his parents had sent was no exception to that. The rattle, gilt, gaudy thing that it was, had been discarded the moment Niall had helped her unwrap it, and Chloe had instead grabbed at the paper it had come in and the ribbon stuck to the wrapping.
The gesture was nice, though, and was one of the first attempts his mum had made at involving herself in his and Chloe's lives since she'd been born, having had little to no contact with Niall since he'd told them everything, yet the existence of her first granddaughter seemed to have prompted her to get back in touch. So far, she was only really interested in Chloe, but Niall dared to hope that maybe, one day, his mum would stop with the cold shoulder and actually look him in the eye.
Niall pretty much lived on hope most days, living on the hope that he'd getter a better job, one with less twelve-hour shifts that meant he would be away from Chloe less; the hope that Chloe would take to sleep in through the nights properly, something she'd managed for roughly a month before deciding that she'd rather be awake, and there was the secret hope he had that Missy and Reece would come back, or at least live somewhere closer so that he could actually call them one in a while without it costing him an arm and a leg. Then there was the hope that one day, he'd wake up and his first thought wouldn't be about Liam.
That hope seemed rather far-fetched, though, especially since the first face he saw every morning looked like Liam in miniature. Chloe was Liam's fucking carbon copy, with his dimples, brown eyes, even the mole on her left cheek, and that was something that made it increasingly difficult to forget about Liam, and stop wishing him either dead or there, with Niall.
He pushed those thoughts away, focusing on Chloe and her smile the made his day seem a little brighter, moving her presents from underneath the small, fake tree he'd bought last minute and stacking them on top of the chest of drawers he'd crammed into their small apartment by her crib, putting Chloe in her crib for a nap before he turned back to the shitty ready meal for one that constituted his Christmas meal.
******
Christmas 2012
"So, Mum, it's lovely to see you. Really great. I didn't know you were even in London, let alone here for Christmas."
Opening the door to invite his family in, Niall tried his best to smile, tugging a little on the hem of his t-shirt and wishing he wasn't still in his pyjamas as his mother gave him an icy smile. Regardless, he welcomed her and her husband into his flat, becoming aware of just how painfully small it was as they crowded inside, taking over the kitchen area whilst also crowding his living room.
Leaving his mum and Chris with tea, Niall took Chloe into the cramped bathroom and dressed her in the nicest outfit he had for her, donated to him by one of the ladies in the local charity shop, sympathising with her confused protests as he got dressed himself. Taking Chloe back out to the main room, Niall pasted another smile onto his face, adjusting his hold on the nearly two-year-old as he introduced her to Maura. "Mum, this is Chloe, your granddaughter."
His mum's iciness almost thawed then, and she gently took the little girl from Niall, almost looking happy until Chloe began to squirm, clamouring to be put down so she could go back to playing with the contents of her stocking. Chloe's insistence on being put down set the tone for the entirety of his mum's visit, the three of them sitting in a very awkward silence and watching Chloe play with the wrapping paper as Niall desperately tried to think of something to say.
They made stilted, awkward conversation for another half an hour before Maura and her husband found an excuse to leave, letting a present for Chloe down in front of them same shitty tree Niall had had last year as they went. Niall let out a sigh as he locked his front door, sinking onto the floor and counting to ten before he looked, pasting a smile on his face as he saw Chloe staring. Walking over to Chloe and picking her up, Niall tried to keep his tone light as he held her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as he said, "It's just me and you then, poppet. Just the two of us. Merry Christmas."
******
Christmas 2013
"I know, poppet. I know. But you'll have a great Christmas day with Jessica. She's looked after you for the past few months and you love her. I'll be home this afternoon, and you can show me all your presents. I'm really sorry."
Leaning against the front counter of the shitty takeaway he was working a one-off shift in, Niall closed his eyes, swallowing hard for a second before he spoke again, "I'm really sorry Chlo. But I'll be home, to collect you, real soon. I promise. You go unwrap your gifts with Jessica, and I'll be there before you know it. Cheer up, yeah? Please, Chlo. Just a few hours and then I'll be there."
Niall swore quietly under his breath as he hung up, taking a second before he turned back to the job he was supposed to be doing and waited for an actual customer to arrive. Eventually, someone pushed the takeaway's front door open, the little bell jingling to advertise their presence as the made their way to the counter.
Managing to smile, Niall turned to face the customer, taking notes as they ordered and refraining from wondering aloud as to why someone would actually be ordering shitty takeaway on Christmas when there had to be other, nicer options. He was still really wondering why he'd agreed to work on Christmas day, though the answer to that was simple—he was being paid three times what he normally would, the extra cash going a long way to paying the next month's rent.
Regardless, he managed a smile, even as he was asked, "What's a nice young man like you doing working on Christmas day? Shouldn't you be home, with your parents? Saving for Uni, I imagine."
"Something like that, yeah." Giving the woman a nod, Niall passed her order along to the other equally guy working in the kitchen, distracting himself by ordering the condiments that were stacked along the display cabinet as he waited for her order to be ready, handing her order over to her with a strained smile.
The rest of the shift passed slowly, dragging on until Niall was convinced he'd worked hours later than he should've, only a handful of people, more than Niall thought there would've been, admittedly, came in, leaving Niall going stir-crazy, counting the minutes until he could go. The moment his shift ended, he was out the door, not needing to stay to collect his wages which he'd been paid in advance, on his way to the sitters flat, in an estate not to far away from the studio apartment he and Chloe were starting to outgrow.
Knocking on Jessica's door, Niall shifted his weight from one foot to the other, impatiently waiting for the door to open. The second it did, and he could hear Chloe's little footsteps pattering to see if Jessica had been right and it was him, Niall grinned, overlooking Jessica for a moment and pulling Chloe into a hug, picking her up and holding her close. He eventually set Chloe down, following her and Jessica inside with a grin, listening to Chloe's chatter for a while and looking at the presents she'd opened with a more wistful smile, wishing he'd been there to open them with her.
Niall left her there for a moment, playing with her new toys, and went to talk to Jessica, who'd been watching him and Chloe with a smile. He gave her a grateful smile, joining her and watching Chloe for a minute before he said, "Thank you. For watching her. You didn't have to, I would've understood. But thank you."
"Don't thank me, it's my pleasure. You understood anyway when I was busy over Diwali, so it's no problem now. And she's an absolute treasure." Nudging Niall with her elbow, Jessica returned his smile, both of them watching Chloe playing for another moment before she moved to help the little girl gather up her things, presenting Niall with a few gifts she'd intentionally held back so Niall could open them with Chloe. "You two best be off, I guess. I'll see you Monday, yeah? Same time?"
Taking the bag of Chloe's things and the unopened presents, Niall gave Jessica a quick hug before took Chloe's hand, both of the heading towards the door as he nodded. "Yep. Thank you, again. Say bye, Chlo."
"Bye bye..."
******
Christmas 2014
"Welcome back, little brother."
Grinning as he and Chloe were met by Greg outside baggage claim, Niall carefully adjusted his grip on the sleeping little girl clinging to his chest and gave Greg a half-hug, letting his brother take his suitcase from him as they headed for the exit, the smile on his face becoming wilder as they began the drive to Greg's house, passing through scenery and places Niall hadn't seen since he was fourteen, fifteen.
Chloe woke up halfway through the journey, looking up in surprise from her car seat and turning her head to look out of the window, a questioning look on her little face as she turned to Niall to ask where they were. The smile on Niall's face and in his voice was unmissable as he looked down at his daughter, reaching over and smoothing out her hair as he said, "Home, poppet."
******
Christmas 2015
"Little brother! And if it isn't my favourite niece!"
Dropping to his knees as he saw Chloe running towards him, Greg scooped her up in his arms for a hug, ignoring the looks he was getting from the people around them and laughing as he spun the four-year-old around before he put her down, high-fiving her as she giggled. "Uncle Greg!"
"She's your only niece, you know."
"It sounds cooler put that way." Sighing a little as Greg stuck his tongue out at him, acting more like a four-year-old than Chloe was, Niall couldn't help but smile as he was pulled into a hug as well, waiting until they were headed towards the airport's exit, with Greg carrying their bags and Chloe's hand in Niall's to ask, "So why I am not your favourite brother?"
"Do you want the answer to that?" Smirking a little as Niall gasped, pretending to be affronted, Greg shared a look with Chloe, winking conspiratorially as he helped her into the car, strapping her into the car seat whilst Niall put their bags into the boot, looking at Chloe through the rear-view mirror as he laughed, elbowing Niall in the side as he said, "'Course you're my favourite brother."
"And so I should be." Grinning, Niall leant back in his seat, enjoying the snow-covered view as they began the drive out to the village where his brother, nephew and sister-in-law lived, taking the opportunity to point out places to Chloe as they drove past, the familiarity of everything, even after all the time he'd spent away, putting him at ease and reassuring him that Ireland was still familiar territory, still somewhere he knew, and could still be home.
Jumping out of the car the moment she was freed from her car seat once they'd arrived, Chloe ran first into Greg and Denise's front garden, leaving footprints in the snow and shrieking out of excitement as she felt snowflakes, grabbing at the snow and tossing it in the air above her head before she ran into the house, shouting for Theo, who was just old enough to be her co-conspirator and adventurer and playmate, and would surely come with her to explore the snow some more.
Niall shot Greg and Denise a somewhat apologetic grin before he joined Chloe outdoors, taking her hat and gloves with him and making her wear them, even with her assertions that she was warm enough. Chloe was more than content to let Niall join her and Theo for a while, letting him show her the best way to build things out of the snow before she changed her mind and banished him from her kingdom. "Go, Daddy. You're not s'posed to be here, in the ice castle. Go!"
That just made Niall grin, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and tugging on the pompom that adorned her hat as he said, "You're so bloody cute, poppet."
Niall only made an effort to leave both children by themselves in the garden when both Chloe and Theo took the opportunity to chime, "Swear jar!", heading inside and joining Denise in the kitchen where she was stood, watching both children, from the window, a smile on her face as she handed Niall a mug of tea, shushing him as he made to speak and interrupt her eavesdropping.
Nodding wordlessly, Niall joined his sister-in-law at the window, watching as Theo presented Chloe with a snowball, his daughter wasting no opportunity once Theo's back was turned to cram it down the neck of Theo's coat. Instead of crying, though, or shouting that it wasn't fair, Theo simply waited for Chloe to turn away before he exacted his revenge, as best as a three-year-old could; charging into his cousin and knocking her into the snow.
Sharing a look with Denise as both children came stomping into the kitchen, pouting and dissatisfied with the other, running up to their respective parent and crying about them, Niall pushed Chloe's hair out of her face, making sure that nothing was actually injured other than her ego before he sent her back out, waiting until Theo had joined her to say to Denise, "Don't you just love Christmas?"
******
Christmas 2016
"Daddy?"
"Chloe?" Opening his eyes and blinking a few times as he heard the familiar little voice, Niall wasn't surprised to see Chloe stood there, in the doorway to Greg and Denise's guest room, all the way down the corridor from Theo's room where she'd slept, quite the trek for saying she was clutching her stocking with both hands and dragging it behind her, the five-year-old looking up at him with wide eyes that were full of hope as she asked again. "Daddy?
"Chlo." Niall opened both eyes properly and sat up, running a hand through his hair and yawning as he looked down at his daughter, a smile tugging at his lips as Chloe asked, "When can we open presents?"
Pulling on the t-shirt he'd discarded on the floor the previous night, Niall was reminded of being Chloe's age, him and Greg counting down the minutes together, fidgeting, making up games stories, plans for the future that involved wars or battles or trips to space, and waiting for it to be late enough before they knocked on their parents door, years of memories and nostalgia flooding his memory as he asked, "Is it seven yet?"
"Ummm." Chloe hesitated before she shook her head, looking up at Niall with pleading eyes, in the hope that the time wouldn't matter, her shoulders sagging and a sigh escaping her small frame as Niall said the very words she hadn't wanted to hear. "Then not yet, Chlo."
"But-" Climbing onto the bed, Chloe sat at Niall's feet, dropping the stocking down and crawling up so she was sat next to Niall, a frown on her face, disguising for once just how much like her other father she could look, as she made to ask Niall again. "Please? Daddy?"
"No, poppet. Those are the rules. Theo has to obey them, so you do too." Anticipating the frown that was already crossing Chloe's face, Niall brushed her hair out of the way, shifting so she could join him under the duvet and shivering as she accidentally kicked him, tucking her cold feet against Niall's leg as she snuggled into him. "How long until we can open them?"
Wrapping an arm around the little girl, Niall looked down at his daughter with a fond smile, reminded of how much he lived for the days when he was awarded a lay in with his cuddle-bug of a little girl and not caring as the five-year-old managed to steal ninety percent of the duvet, a miracle, really, for saying she was so little and yet she required so much blanket, waiting for Chloe to settle down before he answered her. "Half an hour or so. Not that long to wait, yeah?"
******
Christmas 2017
"The kids asleep yet?"
Giving his brother a tired smile as Greg reappeared, having been on bedtime story duty, Niall shifted over to make room for him on the sofa, a knowing look on his face as Greg shook his head. "Nah. They're pretending to be, but I know for a fact Theo wants to stay up and catch Santa in the act, and I can guarantee Chlo will be more than willing to join him."
"They'll be out like lights, give them an hour or so." Accepting the drink Denise offered him as she returned from the kitchen, Niall caught her look of confusion when Greg left to answer a phone call, both of them shrugging in answer to the other's question and falling into a conversation about something inane, unimportant and distracting, until Greg returned, a grim look on his face as he dropped the phone onto the spot next to him on the sofa, giving Niall a wary look as he said, "That- That was Mum. She's...she wants to visit. Tomorrow. Join us for a while before she goes to visit a friend for dinner. God knows why."
"Ah." Reaching over from her armchair, Denise squeezed Greg's hand comfortingly, her response sounding far more polite than Niall's answer of, "Shit."
"I said yes, couldn't say no. Sorry, Ni." Greg slumped back in his seat, shooting a guilty look Niall's way that Niall shrugged off, taking a long sip of his drink and running his hand through his hair before he looked at his older brother. "It's Christmas, right? It's time for family, so if she wants to be here, bring it."
"That's the spirit." The sarcasm in Greg's tone made Niall smile and made it seem slightly easier to ignore the memories of past encounters with his mother, shrugging off the threat now seemed to loom over events with an only somewhat forced smile as he chose to retell his favourite stories about his brother from when they were young, stories Denise already knew but embarrassed Greg to the point where he was willing to beg to shut Niall up.
The smile on Niall's face became a little less forced the next morning, more tired than anything, having spent the previous night tossing and turning, and he managed to seem suitably excited at the prospect of presents to fool not only Chloe but Greg and Denise as well. He watched as Chloe and Theo unwrapped their gifts, determined not to let his smile slip and doing a fairly decent job of it until Chloe and Theo were told and Chloe frowned, her nose wrinkling as she reflexively turned to look up at Niall, the six-year-old's reaction so vastly different to Theo's, who'd cheered at the prospect of seeing his nan, that Niall's own smile fell and he pulled Chloe into a hug, fighting to keep his voice light as he said, "It'll be fun, Chloe. Grandma will bring presents, probably, and you haven't seen her for a while, anyway. It'll be great, poppet."
Nodding slowly, Chloe seemed unconvinced by that, but she went back to opening the few presents she was yet to unwrap, including the gift Missy and Reece had sent, the present having actually arrived in time for Christmas for the first time ever, cheering up again to the point where she was challenging Theo to a sword fight in the living room, using the toys Theo had just unwrapped and cushions meant to be shields, their battle coming to an abrupt end when Niall caught them stood on the coffee table.
That also happened to be when Maura arrived, knocking heavily on the door and being down in by Greg, being let into the living room just as Niall was trying to persuade Chloe that standing on the coffee table was really not a good idea, the six year old standing there, holding a cushion in one hand and a plastic sword in the other, a mischievous grin on her face as she challenged Niall. Her grin faded a little as she noticed her grandmother, wordlessly handing the cushion and sword over to Niall as she jumped down from the coffee table and tried for a smile as she looked up at Maura, the strained look on Chloe's face almost identical to the one on Niall's.
Maura gave them both a small nod, before she descended on Theo, the five-year-old having no reason to hold back as he was pulled into a hug, and grinning up at Maura as she let go of him, not noticing as Chloe was subtly left out of the 'Nan-you're-here-this-is-great' moment, looking up at Maura as though her being there could only improve his Christmas. Theo's enthusiasm didn't quite rub off on Chloe, who maintained a distance from her grandmother and only spoke to her when Maura spoke to her first. Which wasn't exactly often. Maura only spoke to Chloe to enquire about school, or 'that hobby you do, whatever it is', and spoke to Niall even less, always perfectly civil but never with the same warmth with which she spoke to Greg, Denise or Theo.
That in itself bothered Niall. Over the years and the handful of times she'd seen Niall and Chloe, Maura automatically kept them at arm's length, any desire for reconciliation or any chance of her actually having a relationship with Chloe seemingly gone after that first fateful visit. Niall could deal with her refusal to have a relationship, he'd learnt to deal with that, but her treatment of Chloe perpetually pissed him off, and now that feeling was starting to ruin Christmas, normally the one time he and Chloe spent together completely uninterrupted by his shift patterns or anything else.
The only thing that made his mum's visit slightly more tolerable for Niall was the fact that, this year, Maura had remembered to include Chloe in her gift giving extravaganza. The previous year, she'd sent gifts along for Theo but had forgotten Chloe entirely, and whilst the lack of a present wasn't the end of the world, her behaviour towards Chloe then had been inexcusable. This Christmas, Chloe was presented with her own gift before Maura moved on to Theo, giving Chloe a quick, awkward hug after Chloe had unwrapped a selection of books; some old, classics like Anne of Green Gables, The Famous Five, Mallory Towers, and some newer ones too, stories like Star Crossed, Pippi Longstocking, Percy Jackson; a surprising number of books that Niall shot his mother a rare smile for giving, a smile that went unnoticed or unreturned and was quickly replaced by what was becoming Niall's customary strained expression.
Chloe seemed surprising pleased with her gift and didn't bring attention to the fact that Theo was laden with more packages and sweets, instead sitting with Niall and showing him her books, both of them occupying themselves by flicking through the pages until Maura left, not bothering to say goodbye to Niall or Chloe. Niall didn't care about that, letting out a sigh as he heard the door shut behind his mum, looking up at Greg and pulling a slight face in response to the question his brother didn't need to ask out loud.
Relaxing a little, Niall was more than happy to sit there with Chloe, looking through the first chapters of Anne of Green Gables, until Denise announced that dinner would be ready and Niall had to resume his role of responsible grown up, shepherding Chloe and Theo to the bathroom to wash their hands before sitting at the table, pulling the crackers set out on the table whilst they waited for everyone else to be seat, both children forcing a paper crown onto Niall's head before pulling on their own, exposing Greg and Denise to the same treatment as they joined the table, both Theo and Chloe implementing and enforcing the rule that paper crowns had to be worn for the entire duration of the meal.
******
Christmas 2018
"So...we spend before Christmas spending Christmas with Pa- Liam, then we spend actual Christmas with Uncle Greg in Ireland?"
The confused look on Chloe's face made Niall smile a little, and he pulled Chloe in for a hug as he nodded. "Yep. I thought that would be nice, poppet. If that's what you want to do."
Squirming free, Chloe sat herself at the other end of the sofa, considering things or a second, the realisation she'd get two Christmases sinking in before she nodded slowly. "It sounds okay. Sounds fun, Daddy."
______________________________
So...here it is. Merry Christmas.
I've been working on this day and night for the past few days and, after suggesting the idea to you guys, the concept migrated from one Christmas to an exploration of a lot of different Christmases.
Unfortunately, there isn't actually any Liam, but you finally see the cousin Niall lived with for a bit, who's mentioned all the way back in chapter ten. Literal years after I started this, I finally gave them more than one little, throwaway line.
This chapter is dedicated to you guys, as a thank you for sticking around this long, and as thank you for all the votes/comments/time you put into reading this.
Anyway, it's Christmas, I gave you guys a Christmas oneshot, and now I'm off to a party.
Thoughts on this?