Their wedding date was getting closer and closer. They agreed on getting married on the 2nd of December in Ireland which meant then they'd be flying out on the 30th of November but still so much had to be done. Louis and Liam had their tuxedos tailored and Niall had ordered their cake – a three layered white chocolate wedding cake with chocolate covered strawberries patterned around the base. It wasn't much. It was simple but looked elegant. They chose to get married in the church that Greg and Denise got married in because it was like Niall said, it was tradition and Harry was okay with that. Their honeymoon was two weeks in Paris, which Niall was particularly looking forward too. Even after the slight complain about not being able to go on the Eiffel tower because he said, quote, he'd be "too big by then". Greg was walking Niall down the isle and Liam was his best man and Louis was Harry's. It was more or less all set. The only problem they had was the weather. It was set to snow in New York and Ireland the same time they left but Harry and Niall hoped and prayed that they'd be allowed to have their special day.
Harry was particularly anxious about this trip to Ireland. Harry's still a bit standoffish with Niall's family. He hadn't spoken to Niall's mother since he found out Niall was pregnant and then – and then there was Bressie. There was still that thought in the back of his mind after his Skype call with Greg. It was as clear as day that he still had feelings for Niall and yes, he trusted Niall enough to not act on these feelings but he certainly didn't trust Bressie to be the same. He didn't let that bother him, though. He couldn't. He had more important things to worry about. Like Niall, for instance. Harry sat, currently watching him from the large study table while Niall sat on the sofa with his feet, his face buried in a large white folder that looked like something their wedding planner had gave them. Niall had put so much thought into the wedding recently, it was amazing too much and Harry almost felt guilty right up until he offered Niall to help and he was told to "back the fuck off". Harry wasn't at all that bothered, as it took his mind off his study for law. Harry's eyes drifted to the stereo player and with a knowing smile on his face, he stood up and strolled over to it. He switches it on and glances back at Niall, who instantly looks up when he hears the lyrics.
"Harry, why are you playing our wedding song?" Niall asks curiously.
A thousand Years by Christina Perri.
"Because I want to practice." Harry answers simply.
Niall only frowns in respond but Harry goes up to him, silently asks for his hand and Niall hesitantly grabs onto it before he's taken onto the middle of the floor in the living room and Harry is pulling him close, his arm wrapped around his waist as he clasps his hand around Niall's. It's blissfully peaceful as Christina Perri's voice rings through the living room and slowly, Niall's frown begins to disappear and is replaced by a soft smile.
"You never cease to amaze me, Mr. Styles." Niall grins, gazing into his eyes.
"Better get used to it, baby boy because after we say 'I do' I will be forever trying to amaze you." Harry smirks and Niall rolls his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I can't wait. All we got is the wedding and after that, it's two weeks in Le Paris and I'm all yours."
"Hmm...how's your French? Better start practicing." Harry offers lightly.
"Je t'aime, Harry." Niall finally replies, after a silent moment of thinking and Harry couldn't laughing.
"I love you too, Niall."
Niall lets out a content sigh and lets go of Harry's hand, only to wrap both of his around his neck and he pulls him even closer, if that was intimately possible. It was a rare and quiet moment for the couple. Probably one of the only ones they'll get before they flew over to Ireland. Niall still had a lot of catching up to do with Harvard and Harry had a few errands to run for the wedding, too. Harry was pulled out of his trance when a timer buzzed nearby and Niall pries himself from Harry's grasp.
"What's that?" Harry asks.
"Oh, just the timer for the injections. I made an appointment with Faye by the way, before we head to Ireland. Best get an update before leave." Niall answers, heading over to the bookshelf to stop the timer.
"Yeah. Yeah, good idea." Harry sighs, scratching the back of his head for a moment, looking a little dazed and he's pulled out of his trance and he waltzes up the stairs, leaving Niall in peace.
- - -
When they next see Faye, Niall is once again lying down on a hospital bed, dressed in a hospital gown and attached to a number of tubes and wires as Faye works her wonders. Harry is with Niall, sitting on the chair next to him and he's biting his thumb nail furiously as he and Niall both stare longingly at the grey and black fuzzy screen. This time, it was a little harder to see the foetus which put he and Niall on edge. It was the same with Faye. She, too, was struggling to see the screen.
It made Niall nauseas, which didn't particularly help.
"Is everything all right?" Niall croaks, gazing worriedly at Faye.
But then Faye turned around and flashed them a brilliant and somehow, all of Niall's worries seemed to distinguish. He gulps dryly, looking at her with watery eyes.
"Everything is all right," Faye confirms, "I had a little trouble seeing for a while but sometimes that happens. You're all good to go." Faye beams and switches off the monitor.
She hands Niall some wipes and she's heading out the door but Harry follows her, not as convinced as Niall was.
"Faye," Harry calls, shutting the door behind him and Faye spins round on her heel, "What happened back there?" he whispers.
"Nothing." Faye shakes her head dismissively, waving her hand at Harry.
"Faye." Harry repeats, a little impatient.
This time Faye heaves a deep sigh and smoothes out her scrubs with the palm of her hands before answering.
"It was a little difficult to see the feoutus," She finally admits, "But it's not something to be alarmed about," She adds, reading Harry's expression, "This happened before, when I treated the other woman."
"What does this mean?" Harry asks curiously.
"It means that I'll have to monitor Niall a lot closely. The feoutus is getting stronger." She explains simply.
"Faye...we're leaving to get married." Harry states, a little worried.
"Oh, I know. You'll have me on call, 24/7. I promise you. Honestly, this is nothing to worry about. I would tell you if you there was." She assures him.
Harry studies her carefully, still not entirely convinced. But he lets it drop and thanks her before heading back to Niall. Of course, Niall was listening from the other side of the door. He had his ear pressed against it, still dressed in his hospital gown and he had hurried back to his bed when he heard Harry's footsteps approaching. He didn't say anything to Harry when he entered. He wasn't exactly sure what he could say to him.
He sits at the edge of the bed, letting his feet dangle as he swings them while his hands are pressed firmly on the bed and he flashes Harry a welcoming smile. There was something bothering Harry. There was something bothering Faye and Harry but neither were about to let on.
"Everything all right?" Niall asks casually, sliding off the edge of the bed, his feet hitting the cold, tiled floor.
"Yeah, it's all good." Harry assures him, sitting down but not exactly meeting his gaze.
Niall left it at that. He unhooks the tie of his gown and starts to undress, turning his back to Harry so he could change. Faye came back with an updated ultrasound picture and they both bid their goodbyes, heading out to go home. They had already started packing their suitcases for Ireland. Niall had their suitcase on their bed but he was folding his clothes self-cautiously and when Harry entered the room, he knew something was up.
"Niall, are you okay?" He asks quietly, strolling over to him.
Niall looks up and sighs, folding a sweater neatly into his suitcase before sitting down on the edge of his bed.
"I don't even know why I'm packing half of this stuff. Most of it is for Paris but I'm probably going to be too big to wear anything by then." He admits, blushing furiously.
It was the truth. Niall wasn't one to be ashamed of his weight but ever since he got pregnant, he felt pretty insecure of himself, especially now when he's getting bigger. Harry's eyebrows knot together, a little taken aback by Niall's confession. It looked like the whole pregnancy situation was finally taking it's toll and this was what Harry was worried about. He lets out a sigh and strolls over to his fiancé. He fits himself between Niall's legs and gets him to look up, lifting his chin up with his index finger.
"Hey. You're beautiful, no matter what." Harry compliments and Niall is blushing even more so than before as Harry plants a kiss to his forehead and he goes to help Niall pack the rest of their clothes.
The morning they were to head to Ireland, they decided to take Harry's private jet. They were taking the jet with Louis, Tess and Liam. Niall had paid Liam a few visits in between studies so that he could pursue his duty of the best man. They frequently discussed the wedding over coffee mornings and shared opinions on venues and themes. Harry and Niall were getting married in the same church that Greg and Denise got married in. They decided to stick with the good, old tradition. Greg and Denise had offered for them to stay at their house but Harry and Niall agreed it was too crowded and they stuck with a cheap motel with Liam, Tess and Louis. They entered the private jet and Niall and Harry took their seats next to each other while Louis, Tess and Liam took their seats at the back. They had literally just taken off and that's when Harry turned and found Niall struggling to get into a comfortable position.
"Hey, Ni, you all right?" Harry frowns, clasping a hand around Niall's elbow.
"Yeah, fine, this baby is just really active is all." Niall sighs exasperatingly and Harry bites his lip, his eyes scanning around the jet.
"Why don't you pace the jet for a bit? It might help." Harry offers.
Niall pauses, gazing at Harry curiously, looking him up and down.
"And how would you know if it'd help?" He asks self-cautiously.
Harry hesitates a little bit before answering.
"Well, I – I googled. I didn't want you feeling uncomfortable." He admits bashfully and there's another pause in which a huge, beaming grin is spread upon Niall's face.
"Aww, you've been googling shit for me." Niall coos instantly, reaching over to plant a big, wet, sloppy kiss on Harry's cheek.
Harry only wrinkles his nose in response, shaking his head dismissively at Niall's sudden fondness as it was probably due to hormones. Niall hastily lives himself up off the seat of the plane and brushes past Harry, going for a little wonder around the jet. When everyone had arrived in Dublin (that had included Niall's mother, Anne and Gemma) they were to head over to a small venue for a little party. It was more or a less a belated engagement party, which Maura had organised as a surprise. Harry could tell that Niall was both excited and nervous about this and the first people to greet them at the door were Greg and Bressie, who both offered their congratulations.
"Bressie!" Niall exclaims delightfully, standing almost on his tip toes to wrap his arms around the muscular lad.
Harry stood hesitantly behind him, his eyes on Bressie. He could see the sheer delight that Bressie felt as they embraced and even though Harry had everything he ever wanted, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy as they pulled away, smiling at each other. Harry stood with his hands behind his back, his lips pressed into a thin line and at the corner of his eye, he could see Greg studying him carefully.
"Wow! Look at you, you're getting bigger already." Bressie laughs, gesturing to Niall.
"That's because I'm pregnant." Niall says defensively, earning a chuckle from Bressie and Greg.
"Come on, let's go inside. Think the snow is about to start."
They are welcomed by loud music, chattering voices and crowds of people. Harry heads over to the drink stand with Greg while Niall and Bressie sit opposite Anne and Gemma at one of the round tables. Gemma suddenly lets out a squeal of excitement as the DJ changes a tune and she's dragging Anne up to the dance floor with her hand., leaving Niall alone with Bressie. Harry, standing at the drink stall, watches them carefully as he handles two drinks in his hands.
"They're fine, Harry."
Harry turns his head to see Greg watching him with a knowing smile on his face as he, too, pours his own drink.
"I didn't say they weren't." Harry replies, almost defensively.
"Come on, Harry. It's written all over your face. You have nothing to worry about, Niall only has eyes for you. It's obvious." He assures him.
That's when Bressie reaches his hand over to Niall's belly and presses his palm over it, causing Harry to crunch the half-full plastic cup to pieces, the liquid spilling over the table but just missing their shirts and Greg jumps a little, startled.
"Jesus, Harry. You got to trust Niall more." Greg sighs, grabbing a napkin to dab at the dampness of the table cloth.
"I do trust Niall. It's him I don't." Harry explains bitterly, nodding toward Bressie.
"Harry," Greg says, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder and making him look at him, "It's your ring that Niall's wearing, not his. It's you that Niall wants to marry, not him."
Harry's expression softened at Greg's words and he poured himself two fresh cups for he and Niall before heading over to their table.
"Hey Niall, how about a dance? Anne and Gemma seem to be having a pretty good time." Bressie offers, as Harry and Greg approach them.
Sure enough, Anne and Gemma were quite happily dancing together to a song as Harry looked over at them and that's when a slow song started to play.
"Yeah, why not? This is a good song." Niall sighs, getting up off his seat.
Bressie leads him onto the dance floor and wraps Niall's arms around his shoulders before wrapping his own arms around Niall's waist but Niall's eyes drift over to Harry sitting at the table and he's in a deep conversation with his brother.
"You're looking good by the way, Niall."
Bressie's voice interrupts Niall's trance and he's looking back into his eyes.
"Yeah. Thanks." He sighs, "I'm sorry we didn't exactly end on the best of terms. Harry came back into my life out of the blue and -"
"Honestly Niall, you don't have to explain. I'm happy for you." Bressie assures him and there's a pure, genuine smile plastered on his face that makes Niall relax a bit more and he realizes he's smiling back.
"Did you ever wonder, though?" Bressie asks curiously.
"Wonder what?" Niall frowns.
"That it could be mine."
Niall's eyes widen in shock and he almost bursts out laughing.
"No way, Bres. We had sex two months before we broke up. And Harry and I – just no. The timing isn't right." Niall shakes his head in disbelief, frowning a little.
There was another reason that Niall knew the baby wasn't Bressie's but of course he didn't mention that too him. Faye had mentioned briefly in the first few scans that the foetus could be potentially be half vampire, half human and there was no way in hell that was Bressie's doing.
"It was just a thought." Bressie shrugs their shoulders and they fall into a comfortable silence.
Bressie's eyes dart between Harry and Niall. Niall's eyes were locked on Harry's again and Harry was looking back. It was strange. It was almost as if there was some sort of telepathic communication going on that Bressie wasn't aware of. Niall and Harry's relationship alone was the strangest thing he'd ever witnessed, period. That's when Harry suddenly upped off out his seat and darted to the toilet. The song had ended and Niall's heart was beating fast, frantic. Niall gasps and he's about to head to follow Harry but Bressie pulls him back with a desperate, pleading look on his face.
"Let me go." Niall hisses, through gritted teeth.
Bressie drops Niall's hand reluctantly and Niall walks away from him, going after Harry. Louis was sat nearby, talking to Gemma but he had heard the whole thing and he couldn't help but worry. He was debating whether to go in after Niall and Harry when Gemma had brought him out of his trance.
"Earth to Louis? Hello!" She exclaims, waving her hand in front of Louis' face so he looked at her, blinking a little.
"Sorry, I was distracted." He says dismissively.
"I'll bet," Gemma sighs, only half interested, "So do you think I ruined it?" She wonders, bringing back the topic of hand before Louis got distracted.
"Ruined what?" Louis asks, puzzled.
"Bressie and Niall! I mean, they were pretty serious before Harry came along." Gemma admits, looking a little defeated.
"No, you definitely didn't." Louis assures her and Gemma's expression softened, "I always thought Bressie was pretty toxic. He got a little jealous when he found out Harry was back. I don't know if he really loved him. Honestly, you probably did the best thing for them both."
"I know, right? It's like I'm a match maker or something." She beams delightfully and Louis secretly rolls his eyes, for Gemma not to see.
Back in the toilet, Niall was with Harry. Both of them were standing by the sink and Harry had the water running, his face splashed with cold water. His eyes had gone dark and demon-like and he was shaking slightly, looking a little anxious.
"Harry, listen to me. You're okay. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is fine." Niall breathes, stroking Harry's cheeks and gradually, the dark lines and shadows under Harry's eyes disappear.
"You have no idea how much I wanted to kill him." Harry confesses, causing Niall's insides to turn at the thought, "He still has feelings for you."
"Yeah. But I have feelings for you. He just has to deal with it." Niall shrugs his shoulders.
"I could go back there and compel him-"
"No – wait!" Niall spins Harry around and their bodies slam together and next minute, they're kissing.
That's when they hear a gasp and they both jump and turn round, only to see a shadow of Bressie disappearing out the room.
"How much of that you do think he'd heard?" Niall gasped.
_________
Hi! A surprise update. Shit got down in this chapter. I told you Mr Collins wasn't the one you needed to worry about anymore. Bressie is. Just saying, this is only the calm before the storm and I swear, I promise a lot more shit is about to get interesting ;) Feedback would be much appreciated as usual. Much love x