Louis hummed to himself as he stood over the stove making breakfast for all of his brothers. It was Tuesday, his day off (or one of them anyway), and he always made breakfast for everyone on busy weekday mornings. Around this time every day, Zayn would be up and getting dressed for work and Harry would be helping Liam get ready for school. Liam was five and went to kindergarten at the same school that Zayn was an art teacher at. Harry was 21 and a junior at the local community college studying to be a music teacher. This obviously made transportation easy in the mornings, and on days that Louis had to go to work and Harry was in class, Liam would go to Zayn's class and stay in there until the end of the day after his half-day class. On those days, Niall, who was three, would go into the studio with Louis. It was a good thing everyone at the studio loved Louis and Niall because usually there was a strict no-children policy. Louis was grateful that he was best friends with the boss, Nick, outside of work every day.
Louis finished spreading some grape jelly on the toast just as he heard the sound of running little feet coming down the stairs. He turned and smiled as he waited for either of the little boys to come bounding into the room.
"Lou!" Liam giggled, running into Louis' arms.
"Li!" Louis mimicked as he picked Liam up and spun him around once before kissing his cheek and setting him in his own kitchen chair. Liam went on to talk animatedly about how his morning had gone so far in the short twenty minutes that he'd been awake. Louis shook his head fondly at how much of a morning person Liam was. He was so different from the oldest three boys, and Niall was very similar.
Louis supposed that the difference between Liam and Niall's personalities compared to those of his own, Zayn's and Harry's came from the obvious fact that they had different fathers. After Zayn had moved out of state to go to college, his father had left his mother. Harry was 14, Louis was 16, and Zayn was 18 at the time, but they weren't really bothered. They completely sided with their mother as their dad was abusive, and they were all old enough to know it. Louis was the only one that really tried to stay in touch as he felt the closest to their dad and still wanted to have a relationship, but after he'd cried on the night of his graduation about his father not coming after he promised that he would, he gave up on the hope, probably for the better.
When Harry was a senior in high school, their mother got pregnant with her then-boyfriend. It was a surprise to say the least as she had already had three kids, all of whom were technically adults. Nonetheless, the guy, who all three boys, but especially Harry since he had met him more than once or twice, hated. The guy, whose name was Will, stuck around basically because he had lost his job and didn't want to pay any bills himself. While their mother was with him, however, she became careless, especially for a woman that had a baby. Harry found himself at home with Liam more than either of them were since he had opted to live at home, but not necessarily by choice. His grades were too poor to get any scholarships, and he didn't really have many special talents so he went to a community college.
When Liam was almost two, Will left for some other woman apparently. Everything seemed to be changing for the better, really, until their mother found out that she was once again pregnant. Zayn thought that it was incredibly immature of her to have accidentally gotten pregnant twice, but he tried to support her and leave his judgmental opinions out of it just at the other boys did. When Niall was born, everyone's minds were changed. He was the most beautiful baby. As Louis thought back on it, he could remember being in the hospital when some older nurse had see him holding Niall.
"You know," she said, "I'm obligated to lie when I say that a baby is the most beautiful one I've ever seen. But I do believe that baby is absolutely the most gorgeous child I've ever laid eyes on in my twenty years of doing this."
Of course, having Niall didn't change much about their mother. She went out to a bar one night only two weeks after giving birth and drove home drunk. On the way home, she hit a tree and was killed instantly on impact. When Zayn was informed, he couldn't even help but think of his two little baby half-brothers before being remotely concerned about his mother being dead. He was obviously devastated about their mother, but even more so, he worried for the two young boys. When the question of custody was brought up at the hospital, Zayn volunteered almost immediately, not even thinking about how hard it would be to support two kids on a first-year teacher's salary.
So, Niall and Liam were officially adopted by Zayn, and all three of them were living in Zayn's tiny apartment. Meanwhile, Louis was an intern at the recording studio that he works at now and was making almost as much money as Zayn. They all put their money together with what Harry made as a part-time waiter at a high-end restaurant and bought a house. It was much more than what any of them expected to be able to afford even though Zayn had taken up a second job until Louis got out of college so that he could send Liam and Niall to daycare. Now, obviously, things were different, and the two boys no longer had to go to daycare. They were also much more financially stable as Louis now had an actual job at the studio and made more than enough money.
Louis was brought back to reality by Zayn coming walking in with a still-sleepy Niall in his arms. Louis held back a coo as Zayn strapped the little boy into the highchair that they seriously needed to consider getting rid of since Niall would be turning four in less than five months.
"Morning, Louis," Zayn said, already walking to the pre-made pot of coffee on the counter.
"Good morning," Louis said. He got up and walked to Niall's half-asleep form and kissed both of his cheeks lovingly. "What's out day look like?" he asked Zayn.
"Well, Harry won't be home much at all because of some big exam that he's cramming for right now," Zayn said, ignoring Louis' chuckles at the their younger brother's unpreparedness. "So if you have to, take Niall to the studio. Liam has a doctor's appointment after school, so we won't be home until a little later than usual."
Liam looked up from his cereal and whined at that. "Zaynie, why do I gotta go to the doctor again? I don't want them to poke at me," Liam pouted.
"Liam, love, it's been six months, so you have a check-up. It's no big deal, there's no shots this time," Zayn calmed him down.
Liam contemplated his words before backing down. He shrugged and continued to eat his cereal. Liam had to be the most cooperative little boy that any of them had ever met. He was so well-behaved all the time, and it made Louis, Zayn, and Harry's jobs much easier.
Niall chose this time to properly wake up. He looked around blearily before saying, "Lou-Lou, want my bread."
Louis stood to get his toast with jam, but didn't give it to him. "What do you say when you want something?" he asked the little blonde boy expectantly. They had been working extra hard on please and thank you. Niall was a little slower with manners than Liam, but that could probably be credited to the fact that Niall was the baby of the family and was undoubtedly spoiled.
"Please," Niall said, making grabby hands for the plate in Louis' hands. Louis smiled and gave it to him.
"Now what?" Louis asked before the boy could take a bite.
"Thank you," Niall said with a slight lisp.
"Good boy," Louis said, ruffling his hair softly before sitting down at the table.
Liam and Zayn finally finished their breakfast, and they were ready to go after Liam had brushed his teeth. Zayn helped Liam put his coat and shoes on, and they left after Liam gave Louis a hug and kiss.
"What are we going to do today, Ni?" Louis wondered out loud.
"Go to zoo?" Niall asked around a mouthful of food.
Louis smiled at him, but shook his head. "It's too cold for the animals to come out, babe," he told him.
Niall frowned and went back to eating his toast. At this point, grape jelly was all over his face and there were crumbs all over his shirt. Louis went back to thinking and humming quietly when he heard Harry stumble down the stairs. He was so lanky and clumsy, and Louis found it incredibly endearing.
"I'm leaving, Lou," Harry shouted from the foyer.
"Give Niall kiss," Niall demanded from the other room with a pout.
Harry laughed, but came into the room and kissed Niall's face everywhere that there wasn't some type of food. "Of course, baby. How could I forget?" Harry asked, kissing his nose one final time. "Now, I can leave since I kissed my Niall goodbye," Harry said with a grin. He thanked Louis for the coffee that was sitting out for him already and left to take his exam.
"Good luck," Louis shouted after him as the door shut. "Alright, Ni, let's get you cleaned up," he said, coming toward him with a wet cloth. Niall giggled and squirmed around, reaching up for Louis when he removed the cloth.
Louis looked down lovingly at the boy before picking him up and taking him to change out of his pajamas. Niall's happiness was so infectious, and Louis was more than glad that they had been able to give Niall a happy life despite what he had unknowingly already been through. Because seeing Niall or Liam smile every day made everything worth it to him; it made all of the sacrifices worth it to Zayn, and it made living with the late version of their mother and her awful boyfriend worth it to Harry.
"Oh, Niall," Louis said, slipping his shirt off. "Please don't grow up."