It's Christmas. Christmas has come sooner than expected and quite frankly, Niall wasn't ready for it. Mainly due to the fact that he was spending it with his husband, who happened to be a vampire and to top it all off, he was pregnant (and getting bigger too, which meant his family were sure to notice) but other than that, everything was good. The only good thing that had came from all this was that Bressie was another no show. It had never bothered Niall about keeping his secret of Harry being a vampire from his family, for many obvious reasons but it bothered him now more than ever since Bressie became a threat to him. Not that Niall had expected him to show up any time soon, especially after his last voice mail to him. Niall found himself lost in thought one morning, after just coming out of the shower. He found himself staring at the long, wall-length mirror. His hair is wet, droplets of water on his body while a pair of sweats sat loosely around his hips. His top half was bear and he couldn't help but stare at the large bump now beginning to show. He's staring quietly at himself when he hears the floor boards behind him creek and he gasps, turns around only to see Harry hovering at the door way, gazing at him in an almost love-struck way. But he held a white square box in hand, wrapped in a white laced ribbon and he approached Niall with a wistful smile, one hand held behind his back.
"It's an early Christmas present." Harry explains, reading Niall's puzzled expression.
"H, you shouldn't have." Niall clicks his tongue but Harry only waves his hand dismissively after handing the box to him.
"I saw it in a window the other day and thought of you." Harry says, when Niall begins to open it.
Inside the box, were two small, tiny pairs of ballet slippers. The tiniest shoes Niall had ever seen and all of a sudden, his heart leapt into his mouth and there's a giant lump beginning to form in his throat. Niall knew that Harry was never okay with the situation they were in, even if he had accepted the fact that Niall is pregnant but even so – this was something that Niall had never expected from him.
"H..." Niall croaks, lost of words.
"I know I said I thought it was boy but since you wanted a girl -"
Harry's interrupted by Niall's lips slamming against his and his words are muffled, followed by quiet giggles against Niall's mouth as Harry's hands slip around Niall's waist. A moment later, there's a knock on the door, followed by an abrupt groan and Louis is standing in the doorway, looking playfully disgusted by the display of affection.
"God, does the honeymoon phase ever end for you two?" He asks exasperatingly.
"No." Harry and Niall answer in unison, earning a chuckle from Louis.
"You have guests arriving." Louis sighs, before turning on his heel and leaving without another word.
Niall smiles at Harry, setting the pretty box of ballet slippers on the edge of the bed. He takes Harry's hand, entwining his fingers in his own and Harry leads them down the stairs to greet their families. Niall's heart is in his mouth as he walks down the stairs with Harry, he's full of nerves but soon he becomes delighted to see all those familiar, friendly faces waiting for them in the living room. Greg, Denise, Theo, Maura, Anne and Gemma. No Bressie. As much as Harry assured him that Bressie wouldn't turn up, there was still a tiny feeling of both doubt and fear in the pit of Niall's stomach that he would show up, despite Niall saying he couldn't come.
It's with that that Niall could actually enjoy his Christmas dinner, spending time with his family and catching up with everyone. Tess had went home on Christmas Eve to be with her parents but of course, Louis had stayed. There even managed to be no awkward tension between him and Gemma and Harry didn't hear Gemma bring up the whole vampire thing once. It wasn't until Niall was in the kitchen, cleaning some of the dishes when he started to feel a little regret. Greg approached him when he was alone, away from everyone else in the living room (they were playing family fortunes) and he had brought up the elephant in the room.
"Hey," Greg greets, "No Bressie?" He asks, taking a sip of his beer.
Niall's shoulder tenses and he drapes the dish towel over his shoulder, dumping a plate on the rack and he turned round to lean against the counter, next to his brother.
"He couldn't make it. Think he's spending it with his family." Niall states, matter-of-factly, trying to sound casual but his voice cracked at the end.
Stupid bloody hormones.
It got the best of him. Niall was about to head back into the living room when Greg caught hold of him, grasping his hand and it caused Niall to turn round on his heel.
"Niall. Did something between you two? You were so close at the engagement party..." Greg trails off, studying his brother carefully.
Niall opens his mouth and then closes it again, unsure of what to say. He couldn't lie to his brother – he was already keeping a secret from him that Harry is a vampire but he couldn't exactly tell the truth the either without bringing up the Dalca and exposing them, breaking another one of their rules once again. He couldn't do that to them, not when they had just made amends.
So instead, the only thing he mutters to him is, "It's none of your business," And he walks away.
Greg is left puzzled. It's not like Niall to remain so secretive about something or another and he's about to question him further but he sees him walk out the front door, only to sit out at the porch and he's about to follow him, sooner realizing that he probably wants to be left alone so he respects his privacy and heads back into the living room, while Maura and Harry are next to enter the kitchen so that Harry could show Maura their most recent baby scan picture, which was pinned up under a magnet against the fridge. Maura doesn't say anything for a while except coo quietly and fondly at the picture but then she stops, putting the picture down on the table and looking hesitantly at Harry, who's grinning proudly at his unborn child.
"Harry...I'm worried about him." She finally confesses and Harry's eyebrows knot together.
"What do you mean?"
"Look, you and I both know that this isn't any kind of normal situation for Niall to be in. I'm not stupid. I'm a mother and mothers worry." She says softly.
Harry couldn't help but smile kindly at the woman before a woman whom he'd admired so much because of the man she'd brought up, almost entirely by herself. He sees so much of Niall in her. They're both so caring and kind and generous, all the qualities that Harry had come to know and love in Niall. He leans back against the kitchen counter, resting the palm of hands against the edges and he looks directly at Maura.
"Maura, I promise you. I'll never let anything happen to Niall."
The wrinkles in Maura's frown softens and she's smiling back at her son in law.
"I always knew I could count on you." She says quietly.
Harry chuckles delightfully.
"Have I ever let you down?" He asks smugly and Maura rolls her eyes.
Harry grabs his mug of coffee, which he had made and pecks Maura on the cheek before heading back in the living room. He's about to join the rest of the family again when he catches a glimpse of Niall outside, all alone, just like he was at the engagement party – and he knew something was up.
He silently excused himself from the family, grabbed both he and Niall's coats and headed outside to greet him in the cold, winter air. It's snowing again, just like it was at the engagement party and Niall didn't even bother looking up as he approached him, sitting down next to him. Without saying anything, he takes Niall's coat out from under his arm and drapes it over his shoulders and Niall could only manage a weak smile.
"Niall." Harry voices and Niall glances warily at him and then stares back into the dark, cold night.
"I just wanted to be alone." Niall murmurs, gazing down at his bump.
"Why? Everyone that cares about you is inside." Harry reminds him, nodding toward the crowd in the living room.
"Not everybody." Niall points out timidly and Harry's lips press into a thin line.
"He doesn't care about you, Ni." Harry reminds him and Niall scoffs.
"He did what he did in hope he'd end up with me. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is." He replies dryly.
"There are other ways to show you care about someone other than stabbing them in the back. Don't be so naive, Niall." Harry says impatiently, following Niall's gaze.
"I know, I know," Niall sighs, matching his tone, slightly agitated, "It's just...my hormones are all over the place, s'all."
Niall's cheeks are red and flushed, as he's feeling slightly embarrassed so he puts his face in his hands to hide his shame, away from Harry but Harry only pries his hands back, taking one of them in his own and setting there entwined hands in between them as he gives it a slight squeeze. With his other hand, he held a small piece of mistletoe over their heads and Niall's face had lit up almost instantly, making Harry feel relieved.
- - -
Christmas was over and done with sooner than Niall had hoped. On Boxing Day, he had trotted downstairs and his heart dropped a little as he saw all the presents lying messily under the Christmas tree. A majority of it was baby stuff, which Niall and Harry didn't mind a bit and they were quite thankful for them. He grunted a little at the sight and wandered past the mess in the living room, heading over to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of tea and make some breakfast. That's when he heard the doorbell ring.
"H, can you get that?"
He calls and in an instant, Harry's at the door and when Harry sees who it is, he freezes. His body goes cold, numb with anger and he's livid. It's Bressie. Standing as bold as brass in front of him, perhaps looking hesitant – and he should be. Without thinking, without any warning, Harry's knuckles collide with Bressie's face. Bressie grunts, stumbling back a little and before he could shake it off, another punch is aimed at his face. They keep coming from Harry, who's attacking him like mad, aiming kicks at his stomach, his ribs and punching his face over and over again and eventually, Bressie falls to the floor, lying in a cowardly heap from Harry. When Niall realises that Harry hadn't returned, he goes to investigate and he yelps with fright when he sees Harry attacking Bressie.
"Harry, stop!" He yells frightfully, but Harry hadn't heard him.
He continued to through punches and kicks, unaware that his husband was standing behind him, watching in horror.
"Harry, don't! He's human!" He cries and he steps forward, attempting to stop him.
That's when it happened. That's when Niall got too close. Niall reaches out to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. Harry's body tenses and he swings round, the palm of his hand swiping against Niall's cheek with such a strong force that Niall yelped in fright and he stumbled back a little bit clutches tightly onto the frame of the door. He gulps dryly and presses his finger tips to his now red cheek, his gaze lifting up to Harry. He had let go of Bressie's collar and he stood up right, his body rigid as he stares in shock at what he had just done.
They stand in a stunned silence and Niall is shaking a little. Louis had pulled back the curtain from upstairs and when he looked down and saw what was happening, he rushes to their aid in a heartbeat. His eyes take in the scene and for a moment, he stares long and hard at Harry before turning round back to Niall.
"You need some ice on that." Louis states and he's about to take Niall's arm but Niall stops him.
"No, Louis, I'm fine." Niall grunts, pushing Louis aside and hobbing over to Bressie, who's trying to get up off the ground.
"Niall, it's going to swell, at least me -"
"I said no, Louis!" Niall snaps firmly.
Louis stops, slightly startled by Niall's outburst but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he drops his hands and stands aside, letting Niall take Bressie into the living room while Harry is still standing, emotionless before them. As the door closes behind them, Niall drapes an arm around Bressie's shoulders and he takes him into the living room, laying him down.
He wanders into the kitchen and grabs a packet of frozen peas, followed by a few pieces of ice wrapped in a clean a cloth and heads back into the living room, sitting down on the edge of the sofa where Bressie was at. Bressie's eyes are closed and his arms are wrapped around his small frame and he winces a little when Niall reaches over to press the frozen peas next to his eyebrow.
"Shit. Sorry." Niall mumbles and finally Bressie opens his eyes, looking into Niall's.
"When did you learn to take such good care of the wounded?" Bressie teases and Niall scoffs.
"You can barely call it battle wounds, Bres." Niall replies and Bressie chuckles, only to wince in pain.
Niall takes it as an opportunity to lift up his white top – which was now covered in blood – and he cringed at the red, purple and swollen bruises, placing the towel wrapped in ice over his abdomen.
"Where's the scared little boy who used to stay over at mine when their parents were arguing?" Bressie wonders curiously.
"He's long gone." Niall grins.
"He sure is." Bressie smiles.
"Seriously, though." Bressie says, causing Niall to look up.
"I remember watching Louis take care of me when I got injured. Which was a lot." Niall snorts and Bressie smiles weakly.
"It's really back, isn't it? Your memory." Bressie wonders.
"Harry helps me remember things. I guess, when you really love someone you never really forget." Niall sighs wistfully.
Bressie studies him carefully, realizing how he almost looks like a teenage girl with a huge crush; blushing, rosy cheeks and a content smile. Maybe the rosy cheeks were due to the cold but he was amazed to know that Harry still makes Niall feel like that, even after knowing each other for three years now, and married. There really was no coming between them, no matter what happened. Bressie suddenly lifts his hands up, struggling a little and carefully reaches over to press the palm of his hand against Niall's belly. His hand then makes his way up to Niall's cheek, which Harry had slapped and Niall's body tenses against his touch.
"I think it's you that needs some ice." Bressie sighs, reaching for the towel before patting it against Niall's cheek.
"I'm okay." Niall says softly, after a moment and he takes Bressie's hand away from his face.
Niall is avoiding Bressie's gaze, he can't seem to look at him at all. He didn't trust himself. Bressie shuffles closer to Niall, so that they're inches apart and when Bressie lifts Niall's chin up with his index finger, he's finding himself kissing him. Of course, there are a million warning bells going off in his mind right now, but Niall is frozen. He's rigid, unable to move and lets Bressie kiss him, moving his lips against hi suntil he's kissing back. But when he starts kissing back, that's when reality kicks in and he's pulling away, heart hammering.
"Oh, fuck." He curses lowly, pushing Bressie back, causing him to grunt in pain.
Niall frantically scrambles to his feet, running his hands through his hair and he starts pacing back and forth next to the coffee table, breathing hard.
"What, Niall?" Bressie asks, sounding impatient and Niall's eyes snap to his.
"I don't know who you think you are, coming up here and then doing that, after what you did! You stabbed me in the back, Bressie!" Niall yells, running his hands down his face.
"I thought you wanted it!" Bressie exclaims and Niall comes to a halt, a look of disgust on his face.
"Why would I want to kiss you after you sold us out to the Dalca?" Niall retorts.
"You brought me here! You took me away from Harry!"
"Yeah," Niall scoffs, "Should have just left you."
Niall exhales deeply, sitting down on the edge of the coffee table, burying his face in his hands while resting his elbows on his knees and facing Bressie.
"Why did you take me away from him?" Bressie asks, in a more softer tone.
"I didn't want Greg asking any more questions." Niall mumbles back, looking out the window to see if Harry and Louis were outside.
"What do you mean?" Bressie frowns.
"He asked yesterday if we were okay. I told him it was none of his business. I couldn't lie to him but I couldn't tell him about the Dalca." Niall explains gently and Bressie groans, lying back against the sofa and massaging his forehead.
"I'm sorry, Niall." He apologises, sounding so sincere and empathetic and for a second, Niall believed him.
Just for a second.
"It's going to take a lot more of an apology to make up for what you did." Niall says softly.
Bressie doesn't say anything for a moment. Instead, he stays silent, lost in thought and Niall studies him carefully. All he sees before him is a scared, lost puppy who doesn't know what to do with himself. He could tell he was confused and quite frankly, so was Niall. Niall should be angry at Bressie.He should be furious for what he did but at the same time, he kind of pitied him a little bit. All Bressie ever did was because he loved him. Sure, what he did was wrong and it hurt at the time (still did, just a little bit) but the thing is, if it wasn't for Bressie then the Dalca still wouldn't be on there side. They came around in the end and Niall was thankful for that. So for that reason, Niall couldn't stay mad at him for too long. He always wondered if Harry felt threatened by Bressie. Maybe he thought that Niall was better off with him. Bressie could give him a life that Harry couldn't – a human life and maybe Harry was jealous of that. Bressie almost acted as a shoulder to cry on in those six months he spent apart from Harry and what they had was good. Niall did love Bressie but it was a long time ago. They were never meant to be. He loves Harry.
"Why did you do it, Bres?" Niall asks, "Why did you sell us out?"
"I figured...I figured they'd do the same thing to you as what they did the first time. I figured they'd erase your memory." Bressie mumbles, shrugging his shoulders.
"Bres," Niall voices and he looks up at him with this sad, pleading, puppy look.
"We're never going to happen, I'm telling you that now. I'm with Harry and I'm happy." He says firmly and Bressie sighs.
"I know. I really am sorry. I shouldn't have sold you out and I certainly shouldn't have kissed you. But...that's not just why I'm here. There's something else." Bressie adds, when Niall is about to stand up.
"What?" He frowns.
"I want Harry to erase my memory."
______________
I'm not exactly proud of this chapter but at the same time I kind of I am, hehe. Also the GIF's? Narry kisspering is everything. Anyways, feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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