[Liam's P.O.V.]
Jay's confused look turned toward Louis and I and I gave her a slightly nervous smile. Luckily, Lottie began yelling about something the twins had just done. When she left, Louis and I looked at each other in relief.
"What are we going to tell her about his speech?" I asked Louis quietly.
"I don't know, mate. We can't exactly hide it from her anymore. She obviously knows."
"What are talking about?" Niall whispered with us.
"The way you talk," Louis said bluntly.
"Something is wrong with way I talk?" Niall asked in a squeaky voice.
"Of course not, love," I soothed.
"But Louis said-"
"Louis is a butthead."
"Hey!"
"What are you three muttering about?" Jay had quickly reappeared without them noticing.
"Uh, nothing important," I answered quickly. "What's on the agenda for today?"
"Probably what you two do every time you come up."
"I call sitting next to Louis!" Daisy shouted from the front room.
And that made the argument break out that Louis quickly dealt with diving across the four of them that were seated on the couch. However, this started a new outburst of the fact that he was squashing all of them. I found my way onto the couch that wasn't occupied by Louis and his siblings and Niall plopped down next to me.
"Liam," Niall whispered. "Can hold hand?"
Instead of answering, I interlocked our fingers and he smiled at me.
"Louis!" Lottie shouted. "Get off of us."
"You always sit on me!"
"You're bigger than us!"
Louis made a big deal of huffing loudly and squished himself in between Lottie and Daisy as Fizzy and Phoebe curled around him too. Each sister was at least touching their older brother and it gave me a small pang in my chest about missing my family. Niall cuddled against me, as though he was sensing my slight sadness and it made me feel better. Louis happily flipped through the channels until Lottie got tired of watching the channels flip by and got up to put in a movie.
"What movie do we want to watch?" She asked looking through the small shelf.
"Toy Story?" Niall immediately said. causing me to smile widely and Louis groaned.
"Which one?"
"First one!"
Louis' groan grew louder and I smirked over to him. He stuck his tongue out as Lottie came to sit back down after putting the movie in. Louis grumbled a bit more but stopped with Fizzy gave him a small pinch. He gave a small frown but then Daisy curled closer against him and he stopped. We watched the movie with the girls telling Louis all about their lives and Louis, being the good big brother that he was, listened intently. About halfway through, the twins got bored with the movie and ran off to do their own thing. Lottie and Fizzy stayed throughout the whole movie and then Jay came wandering in looking for the twins. She disappeared again and they came barreling back into the front room, throwing themselves at Niall and me. I gave a small oof noise but Niall just laughed as they got comfortable with sitting on the both of us.
"Niall?" Phoebe asked, looking up at him.
"Are Phoebe, yes?"
"Yeah!" Her eyes lit up as she continued her question. "Why are you wearing a beanie still?"
"His ears get cold easily so he has to wear a hat all the time," I jumped in to save the boy from having to use long phrases.
"Ooh."
She nodded in understanding before turning her attention back to the movie that was about three quarters of the way over. As the movie ended, Louis stretched and yawned loudly as Lottie got up to put in a new movie. Jay came into the front room to sit in the chair to watch the movie with us.
"How's your job going, Liam? Louis said you got promoted?" Jay asked me.
"Yeah. Uh, I did-"
"Then he quit," Louis interjected.
"Excuse me?" Jay sputtered a tad.
"Thanks, Boobear," I gave him a slight glare along with the child nickname I knew he hated.
"You quit your job?"
"Was my fault!" Niall interjected.
"It was not."
"Why does he think it was his fault?"
"Because he didn't want me to leave for work and I didn't want to leave him so I just kind of took him with me," I explained before a blush rose into my cheeks when I realized how cheesy that sounded.
"He's very attached," Louis stage-whispered.
"Are you still living well-off? Like are you good with money?"
"I've got savings and I'm almost finished with writing my novel so hopefully, I'll be able to sell that soon."
"Living the dream, huh?" Jay smiled, warmly.
I glanced over at Niall who was now distracted with playing with Phoebe's hair before smiling and answering Jay, "Something like that."
"What about you, Boo? How are things with Kyle?"
"Mum, I told you that we broke up."
"I know. I just like hearing reassurance."
Jay gave a small smug smile that made me laugh a bit as Louis gave a fond eye roll. I heard a small grumble from beside me and I look over to find Niall gripping at his stomach. He leaned down and whispered shh to it.
"Are you hungry, Ni?" I asked with a wide smile.
"Uh, am thinking so?" He said in a small voice. "Did not think I was But then tummy did growl so must be!"
"I can go make you a small snack," Jay offered, getting up. "You boys are staying for dinner, correct?"
"Do we really have much of a choice?" Louis asked.
"Not really, no."
Jay disappeared into the kitchen and I got up to stretch and to relief myself but Niall gripped the side of my shirt before I could get too far away.
"Where are going?" Niall asked.
"Just to the bathroom, love. I'll be right back."
I gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. I quickly relieved myself and snuck into the kitchen to help Jay with whatever she was making for Niall.
"Oh hello, Liam."
"Need any help?" I offered.
"No dear. Thank you though," she gave me a small smile to which I returned and gave a short nod before turning to exit the kitchen. "Oh Liam. I wanted to ask you something."
I gulped a bit and my heart beat picked up as I turned back around, "Yes?"
"I don't mean to be rude or anything but why does he talk the way he does?"
I paused for a moment, my mind racing desperately for a reason besides the fact that he was born and raised a hybrid. Before I knew what I was saying, words were bursting from my lips, "He grew up that way?"
"What do you mean?"
"He, uh. He had a really rough childhood and he kind of has to relearn how to talk."
Jay's confused look quickly turned into one of sadness, "Oh, that poor boy."
"He doesn't like to talk about it though. So could you maybe not bring it up to him?"
"Of course not, dear."
"Thanks," I rubbed at the back of my neck in relief and she handed me a small plate of food.
"Take this to your boyfriend."
I smiled widely as the word coming from her mouth. She gave me a knowing look and pointed toward the front room. I walked into the front room to find only Niall and Louis sitting in there. I gave the small plate to Niall and watched his eyes light up. He smiled up to me before looking curiously down to the plate.
"What is?" He asked picking up a small piece of cheese.
"Cheese. You've had cheese before. It's on pizza."
"Yellow stuff is called cheese?"
"Yupp."
"Is good?"
"Have I ever given you anything that was bad?" I teased.
"No," Niall gave a small blush and bit into the cheese. "Is good!"
"Told you."
"Mum! Niall and Liam are being cutesy on the loveseat! Make them stop," Louis whined as his mum walked into the front room with a large plate of the same food Niall had on his plate.
"I think it's cute."
Louis gave a loud groan as he dramatically flung himself across the couch. Jay gave a small chuckle as she began to flip through the channels on the telly. She plopped down next to her and made Louis cuddle with her. He was resistant at first but eventually melted into his mother's touch. We made small talk while watching whatever Jay had flipped to. Nearly an hour passed by before the girls came barreling back into the front room, begging Louis for a football match. He of course relented and they all wandered outside, Daisy pulling Niall and I along.
"I call Louis on my team!" Lottie called.
"Not fair! You always get Louis first!" Fizzy argued.
I smiled at the siblings as they bickered the same argument that they always had every time they played. Every time, Louis was with one twins and one of the older girls then at halftime, he would switch teams. I was surprised when Louis called me into the game.
"Li! Come play with us."
"I think I'll sit this on out," I tried to say but Daisy and Phoebe were already running toward me and grabbing my hands to pull me off the back deck.
"It'll make the teams even without Lou having to switch teams."
I looked back to Niall to find Jay standing next to him and offered him a chair to sit and watch next to her. He sat down and saw me watching him, making him wave to me. I smiled back and turned my attention back to where I was being dragged. Louis smirked as he dropped the ball to the ground.
"Ready to lose, Payne?"
"You'll be the one answering that question, Tommo," I smirked.
He snorted as Lottie and Phoebe stood to his sides. I noticed Daisy and Fizzy mimic their actions next to me.
"3-2-1!" Jay shouted from the sidelines and Louis and I both ran for the ball.
I was a tad quicker than Louis and managed to hook my foot around it and kick it to Fizzy who was on her way to the goal. Phoebe was guarding the goal with a very determined look on her face and Fizzy went to go for the goal but Lottie came from seemingly nowhere and stole. And that's how the game basically went. The girls eventually got bored of Louis and I's constant back and forth so they decided they were done. They still cheered for their designated teammate as Louis and I still battled to win.
"Ready to give, Li?" Louis gave a smug smile with a small pant.
"Never in your wildest dream, Lou," I smirked back.
He gave a small huff and I dove for the ball, somehow managing to get it and run down the field with it. Louis ran after me but I pushed myself a bit faster and kicked toward the goal, scoring the first and only goal of the game. I turned around to my own personal cheerleaders with a fist raised. Niall was clapping loudly with a wide smile on his face and my former teammates cheered loudly for me. Louis, however, fell to the ground and stared at the ground. I walked over to him and looked down at him.
"I lost?" Louis questioned, almost confused.
"C'mon, mate. It's just a game," I laughed.
"But I lost! I never lose! You know that!"
"I'm an exception."
"You're a jerk."
I reached out my hand to help him to his feet which he took with a small huff. Niall was running toward us as Louis stood up to brush off the dirt that was on his legs. I smiled to the boy running in my direction.
"Liam! Did win?" Niall asked a bit breathless.
"Yeah, love," I laughed. "I scored the only goal."
"Thought so! Jay tried to esplain but could not get it well."
"That's alright, dear. We'll teach you someday."
Louis huffed again and went to retrieve the ball, grumbling a tad. Niall curiously watched him walk away and skillfully pick up the ball with his foot and knee it into his hands. Niall's eyes got wide.
"How did do?"
"Do what?" Louis asked. "The ball thing?"
"Yes! Was cool!"
Louis smiled and repeated my promise of teaching him someday. I briefly noticed that the sun was starting to go down and the girls had gone back inside. They stayed outside for a few more minutes because Louis and Niall were discussing football. Jay appeared at the back down and called for the boys to come in to eat dinner with us. We obliged and walked back into the house as Niall pressed a kiss to my slightly sweaty temple. I smiled to him as he blushed a tad and I twisted our fingers to together. We sat next to each other as we reached the table and found that dinner was already being served.
"This looks amazing, Jay," I commented.
"Yes! Looks very good!" Niall agreed.
"Thank you, boys," she smiled as she pointedly looked at her son, who was already shoving a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. He caught her look and smiled around his food as he gave her a thumbs up. "Such a well-mannered boy you turned out to be."
"Hey!" Louis protested after swallowing down the mashed potatoes. "You're the one who raised me!"
"Louis, you and everyone else knows that means absolutely nothing when it comes to your stubbornness."
"I can vouch for that," I cut in.
Louis shot me a slight glare that his mother flicked his ear for. He let out a small noise of pain before frowning, "And you guys wonder why I never come home. You guys always pick on you."
"Call it pay back," Lottie voiced from the other side of Niall.
"I call it rude."
Dinner continued mostly similar to that, all of us basically making fun of each other and eating our food. I had missed spending time with Louis' family and they were taking a liking to Niall. Daisy and Phoebe, more specifically. Probably because they talked similar to him and he didn't treat them as though they were just little kids. Dinner finally ended and everyone was stuffed to the brim with mashed potatoes, chicken, and their veggies. The girls had cleaned off their plates off and retreated back into the front room to watch some program that was coming on soon. I helped Jay with the dishes while Louis and Niall stayed at the table.
"That was really good, Mum," Louis complimented.
"Thank you, dear. Maybe it will make you come home more often."
"Muuuum, you make me feel bad when you say stuff like that."
"Your sisters miss you, Louis. You know that."
"I miss them too. But I'm a grown man."
"Manchild," I indiscreetly coughed, causing Louis to send me a glare again.
"Manchild?" Niall questioned.
"It's like a grown man who acts like a child still," I explained.
"Oh, so Louis?"
Jay and I burst into laughter and Louis huffed a sigh again, "You guys are so rude."
"Was rude? Did not mean," Niall's face fell and in my mind, I could see his ears falling.
"Not you, Niall. My mum and Liam."
"Oh, Louis. You know we love you dearly," Jay said as we finished the dishes and she dried her hands off.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
I glance at the clock to find that it was nearly ten o' clock, "As much as I hate to say this, we should probably get going. It's a long drive."
"Why don't you just stay the night? We've got the pull out couch and Louis could sleep in his old room," Jay offered.
"I've got work tomorrow, Mum. As much as I'd love to, maybe next time," Louis said standing and walking toward is mum for hug.
"I'll hold you to it," she said softly, giving her only son a long hug.
"I love you, Mum."
"Love you, too, Boo. Go tell your sisters that you love them."
Louis wandered back into the front room and I heard him briefly talk along with a lot of protesting voices. I smiled and Jay reached her arms around me for a hug.
"We'll come back soon."
"I know," Jay squeezed me a little tighter. "Thanks for taking care of my boy."
"Anytime, Jay. You know that."
Jay released me and smiled before reaching for Niall, whose face lit up as he excitedly hugged Jay back, "It was nice to meet you, Niall. Come back soon."
"Yes! Will come back soon! Like it here!"
Jay laughed as she released Niall and I reached for his hand to lead him into the front room. Louis' sisters had trapped him in a hug and he looked up at me desperately.
"Help me."
"C'mon, girls. We'll be back soon!"
"How soon?" Daisy asked, detaching herself from Louis and running over to me.
"Sooner than last time," I promised.
That seemed to please them all enough to release their brother and hug Niall and I goodbye. They made Niall promise that he would be back too, of course he agreed. We pulled on our jackets, that were seemingly unnecessary, and our shoes.
"Love you guys!" Louis called as we walked out the doorway. "We'll be back soon."
"Be safe!" Jay called. "Call me when you get home."
"We will!" I promised as we climbed into the car.
We waved as we backed out of the driveway and Louis' eyes didn't leave the house until we were around the corner and it was no longer visible.
"Miss family?" Niall asked.
"Yeah," Louis chuckled. "I guess I did."
"Will go back soon. Did promise."
Louis smiled to Niall and turned back to looking out the window as Niall looked over to me. I reached for his hand, which he happily joined with mine. Louis ended up falling asleep on the way home and Niall was dozing on the long drive. Roughly two hours later, we arrived at Louis' house.
"Louis," I said softly. He slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up at me. "We're at your house, mate."
"Oh. Okay," he mumbled, sleepily.
He stumbled out of the door and up the steps into his house. I backed out and drove down the two houses until mine and Niall's and turned the car off. I lightly patted his knee to wake him up a bit more so he could walk into the house. He nodded, sleepily as we got out and I locked the doors of the car before unlocking the door to my flat. We both kicked off our shoes and Niall slipped off his beanie to rub at his ears. He then walked to the bedroom to shed his trousers and waiting for me to unwrap his tail. Once it was free, he smiled at me and his tail gave a small wag. I gave him a quick kiss and we changed into pyjamas. Before crawling into bed, I texted Louis a reminder to call his mum before going to sleep, doubting that he actually would. Niall and I cuddled up against each other and Niall immediately fell asleep. I pressed a soft kiss to his forehead and fell asleep quickly.
[A/N] HELLO MY NAME IS STILL SOPHIE AND I STILL SUCK AT UPDATES. I'm really sorry. Really, I am. *sighs* I'd say I'll try to update more but that'd probably be a lie. Uni is kinda kicking my butt too, along with my laziness. Sorry again! Also, I've got an ask.fm now? If you want to go ask me questions, I'll answer them! ask.fm/livingforthewrite04 Love you bunches, darlings. ♥ Soph