Niall/Liam
"Dad? Daddy?"
Chloe's voice travelled surprisingly well, an impressive feat given how large the flat was, and she was persistent, calling out until she got an answer. "Dad? Daddy...is Papa here yet? Did Papa come home? Are you awake? Dad!"
She was the reason Niall and Liam woke up at all and if it wasn't for the strangely thrilled if exhausted look on Liam's face, Niall would have groaned and hidden his face back in the pillows. He was tempted to anyway, but, with some effort, he sat up, raising an eyebrow as he noticed her shadow on the other side of the bedroom door, taking a moment to decide whether to let the shouting slide for once or remind her yet again about indoor voices before he finally answered her. "We're up Chlo. And yes, Papa's here."
His answer seemed to be all Chloe needed and the door burst open, a high-speed eight-year-old flinging herself onto the bed and jumping around, letting out a delighted squeal as she tacked Liam into a hug. Liam was more than happy to hug back, overlooking the elbow to the ribs he'd received and hugging Chloe instead. The hug lasted until Chloe began to squirm, fidgeting away and jumping some more before she sat, forcing a space in between Liam and Niall. The smile on Liam's face grew even wider as Chloe beamed at him. "I missed you. Daddy did too, you know."
"Is that right? I missed you too. Both of you. So much." Liam's grin became a sort of smirk as he looked over at Niall, who was blushing and had ducked his head, and he shook his head ever so slightly before looking back up at Chloe, frowning over so slightly as he realised that she was already dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, her hair braided almost nicely, as though the plait was the remains of yesterday's hairstyle. "Do you have plans for the day, poppet? Or is it really that late?"
"It's really that late, Li." Answering for Chloe, Niall ran a hand through his hair, stifling a yawn before he stretched, glancing over at the clock on the nightstand before he swore under his breath. "It's nearly ten, Li. I- I should've been at work- Is Jessica not here, Chlo? What about Sam?"
Chloe glanced behind her, jutting her chin in the vague direction of the kitchen and watching both of her parents as she said, "Jessica's not here. She...used the key Daddy gave her for emergencies when no one answered. She sent Sam away, said you weren't awake yet so he wouldn't be needed to take you anywhere, and left after, as she figured you weren't working today, even though it's Friday and you always work Friday's."
Niall didn't seem any more relaxed by that and he swore under his breath, waving Chloe away as she chimed, "Swear jar."
She was sent away to busy herself in the kitchen, to help herself to juice and wait for them to sort breakfast, and Niall closed his eyes once she'd left and collapsed back against the pillows, looking up at Liam with a look that he couldn't decipher. It said, "I'm glad you're home'" but also, "fuck, fuck, fuck," and Liam didn't quite know what to do with it.
He stopped worrying when Niall leant over, kissing him softly and looking at him with a look that more resembled a smile, an actual smile, which Liam was more than happy to return. The moment didn't last long, though, and Niall was suddenly halfway to the door, pulling a t-shirt over his head and suggesting that Liam do the same, stopping dramatically in the doorway to smile at Liam again and say, "I'm so glad you're home."
"Me too," Liam called out, watching Niall leave and head towards the sounds of Chloe causing mayhem in the kitchen. The sounds of Chloe causing mayhem in the kitchen made him grin, climbing out of bed, finding a t-shirt before joining his family.
It transpired that Chloe, in her attempts at pouring herself a glass of juice, had knocked over the carton and allowed a lake to pool on the table, threatening her school work, the book Niall had been reading and the pile of clean laundry that had been left there. She'd then grabbed the laundry to try and mop it up, meaning Niall was holding a load of soggy laundry, ruined sheets of paper and a damp paperback whilst trying to mop it up with a cloth whilst Chloe hovered, still holding the carton.
Liam smiled, though, when he saw the mess, taking the cloth from Niall and doing his best to clean it before sitting Chloe down and pouring her a fresh glass. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he joined her, listening with a grin as she started to ramble on about what she was supposed to be doing with her day, mentioning an art project for her new school, one she wanted Liam to help with.
"That sounds more than doable, Chlo. I'm sure we can find an afternoon." Taking a sip of his own drink, Liam smiled again as Chloe grinned at him, nodding along as she continued to chatter on, getting up to help Niall with breakfast and insisting when Niall tried to shrug him off, silencing him with a kiss to his cheek that made Chloe roll her eyes.
Liam kissed him again, pulling a chair out for Niall and moving to pour him a drink, marvelling in the simplicity of just being there, in his kitchen, as he asked, "So what's the plan for today? I'm gonna guess you should be at work, Jessica should be here for Chloe, right?"
"Don't think that's happening, not if she's come and gone. And I called in sick. If anyone asks, I've got a migraine." Niall gave Liam a half-smile, looking at him to try and gauge his reaction, his smile widening as Liam grinned at him, shaking his head at Niall as he said, "A bad one, I bet."
"Definitely. Totally crippling and horrible." Brushing aside Chloe's clamour of confusion, Niall snorted out a laugh, catching himself for a moment as he realised just how quickly Liam being home had turned his mood around, his smile softening again as he looked up at Liam, pulling him in for a proper kiss before he let him go, leaning back in his seat as he asked, "So, what are you making us for breakfast?"
Liam laughed a little, not too surprised as he'd expected Niall to ask, looking absentmindedly through the cupboards and pulling out a jar of Nutella. "Toast?"
"Sounds good. Chlo?" Glancing over at Chloe, Niall waited for her to nod before he relaxed back in his seat, looking up at Liam expectantly and smiling again. It felt like he hadn't stopped smiling ever since Liam had walked through the door last night. It was a good feeling, the perpetual smiling. It was stupid, how quickly Liam could make his day, simply by being there. He said none of this, though, and watched Liam dance around the kitchen, fiddling with the toaster and almost dropping the toast.
They ended up taking the whole day off from any real responsibilities, sneaking out to take Chloe to the park for the morning, sitting with coffees watching Chloe playing in the park. It was nice, though Chloe would have disagreed purely because Loki wasn't there of her to run around with or help up the slide. That was a conversation she and Liam had on the way home, her imploring him to bring Loki back now he was home, him explaining that he couldn't as e wasn't home for good yet, then Chloe asking if Loki could at least visit.
That led to Niall having to explain that, whilst they had been invited to go and visit Loki and Liam's sister who he was staying with, he hadn't wanted to intrude. "Sorry, poppet. But by September, Papa will be home properly and Loki will be back."
His answer seemed to mollify Chloe but it got Liam thinking. He frowned his way through most of lunch and, when Chloe was sent to her room to work on the latest reading comprehension she'd been sent from her school, he couldn't help but bring up his questions. "Do...do you want me to bring Loki back? At all?"
Merely voicing that question caused Niall to sit up from where he had been sprawled along the sofa, his head in Liam's lap, frowning to match the expression on Liam's face and spluttering as he asked, "I'm sorry, but what?"
"I- I'm just wondering. It's okay if your honest answer is no, but I was just- Never mind...It's just that, you never seemed overly fond of him. And I get it. He's my dog, and you were never particularly fussed about dogs. And he went to my sister's because you two were staying at your place, but now you're here and you could...Chloe could have him back, but you don't seem too bothered." Liam bit his lip, wondering if he'd gotten his wires crossed, regretting asking and disturbing Niall as he continued to frown at Liam. "He's your dog, Li. I just assumed that you'd bring him home when you were back. I...I don't mind. I like your dog, Li. Chlo loves him. So...yeah. Bring him back. If....is there a reason why you're asking, Li?"
"I'm being stupid. Forget it." Liam reached out towards Niall, a conciliatory gesture, but Niall didn't let the matter go. "Li."
Biting his lip, Liam let his thoughts run on for a moment before he gave in, leaning against Niall and closing his eyes before he said, "What we talked about...when you visited. Having another baby. I was just wondering if Loki was a factor."
For a moment, Niall's blood ran cold, and he wondered if Liam knew, somehow, if this was Liam's way of bringing up the fact that he knew, but he looked over at Liam and relaxed ever so slightly at Liam's earnest expression. He was so relieved that he laughed ever so slightly, his easy smile fading for just a second as his conscience reminded him that now would be an ideal time for him to tell Liam the truth, but he brushed past that, ignoring it in favour of pulling Liam in for a kiss. "No, Li. Loki isn't a factor. And I meant it, what I said when we first discussed this. I'd love to give Chlo a sibling someday."
He didn't let the words 'or sooner' pass his lips and he managed another smile for Liam, relaxing back into his earlier position of being laid out on the sofa, his head in Liam's lap and looking up at him with a fond smile. Liam carded his fingers through Niall's hair, returning the smile and letting their former easy conversation return, mostly talking about tour and work and plans for the next few weeks.
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And we're back.
I remember when I said this book would be thirty to forty chapters minimum and now here we are, having reached double that.
I've been going over my plan for this and it's a very long way to the end. Like, really long. Luckily for me, Wattpad lets you have two hundred parts to a book so I might just about make it.
Who here wants Niall to man the fuck up and tell Liam?
And who here wants a dramatic reveal of Liam finding out from somewhere other than Niall?
Who just wants me to actually move the plot onwards? I do.
Out of curiosity, how many of you here have been here since I started this fic back in 2015? Because if you have, you deserve a long service award.
Anyway,
Thoughts on the chapter?