Liam's p.o.v
Slumped over the breakfast bar, Liam glanced over at Kieran, making a face at the squirming infant before cooing at him, smiling as Kieran began to laugh before he turned back to his coffee, Kieran's laughs quieting as Niall walked into the kitchen, Liam turning to face him and giving him a tight smile as he grabbed himself a mug of tea.
Looking at Liam, Niall bit his lip before looking away, not wanting to recreate Thursday's argument before moving around the kitchen, setting a bowl of fruit in front of Kieran before clearing his throat. "Umm... I'll be back around five thirty, the office isn't far away."
Nodding, Liam didn't look away from his coffee, running a hand through his hair as he said "Okay. Have a.... good first day."
Gathering up his stuff, Niall realised how quiet it was, a theme that had commandeered the weekend, both of them staying in different rooms and avoiding each other, only being in the same room when they were forced to do so because of Kieran.
Pushing the thought away, Niall made to leave, turning around before he left to see Kieran babbling at Liam, handing him a piece of fruit, the sight of the two of them making Niall want run back and apologise, making him shake his head as he closed the door.
Glancing up as he heard the door shut, Liam set the grape Kieran had given him down on the worktop, mentally kicking himself for not simply apologising to Niall before turning his attention back to his phone, emailing Zayn and instructing him to cancel all his meetings for the day as he finally got round looking at the text he'd received from Louis.
From : Louis Tomlinson.
When r u and Niall gonna sort ur shit out?
To : Louis Tomlinson
I don't know. Not that easy. How do you know about that?
From : Louis Tomlinson
I no everything.
Niall called me days ago. Told me everything and u guys need 2 talk.
Fix ths b4 it's 2 l8.
Shaking his head, Liam slammed his phone onto the counter, counting to ten before replying.
To : Louis Tomlinson
It's complicated. I don't even know how to fix this. He's mad at me. I'm mad at him. We both said shit and it's..... difficult.
Why do you care so much? It's not like you approved of my relationship with your best friend.
From : Louis Tomlinson
Just talk! It's not difficult. U love him, remember. And he loves u. U both love Kieran.
And I care coz somehow we're friends and u helped me. U never xactly needed my approval, anyway.
To : Louis Tomlinson
Okay......
Thanks, I guess.
Looking across at Kieran, Liam ran a hand through his hair before letting out a sigh, smiling weakly at the babbling infant before muttering, "Is it that easy? Why am I asking, you, little guy? It's not like you know the answer."
Picking Kieran up out of the highchair, Liam winced as Kieran kicked him, muttering a curse before setting the eleven month old down and watching as he began to crawl towards the couch, pulling at a cushion and giggling as it fell next to him.
Sitting next to Kieran, Liam took a photo of him, smiling at the infant's thrilled expression before snapping another photo and starting to send it to Niall, faltering at the last second and deleting the text.
Standing up, he picked up Kieran and carried him over to his playpen and set him down before he dared to enter their room and grabbed a shirt, pulling it over his head as he stared his side of the bed, unslept in for the past few nights, out of place compared to Niall's side, still crumpled and messy, turning back as he heard Kieran knock something over.
Half running into the living room, he cursed as he saw the stack of DVDs that had been stacked by Kieran's playpen spilled over the floor, a surprised looking Kieran holding onto the bars of the pen and waving around his bottle, a wail threatening to escape from the eleven month old, the look on his sons face prompting Liam to pick him up, hurriedly beginning to hum as he jogged Kieran up and down. "Come on, you're okay, it's okay, yeah?"
Shaking his head as Kieran continued to sniffle, hiding his head in Liam shoulder before whining "Daddy. Daddy. Daddee-"
"I know, Kieran, but daddy isn't here today. You're stuck with me. I know."
*************
Looking up as he heard the door open, Liam bit back a smile as Niall entered, raising an eyebrow in greeting before he dared to say "Hey."
"....Hey yourself." Setting his stuff on the floor, Niall stared at the mess that was the flat, hiding a grin at the frazzled look on Liam's face before sitting next to him, biting his lip as the older guy shifted away.
Mentally kicking himself, Liam ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of a way to unnoticeably shift back towards Niall as he asked "How was work?"
"Oh... it was okay. Felt odd to go back to that world, if I'm honest..... Listen, Liam, we need to talk. About, you know." Looking up at Liam, Niall winced at what appeared to be snot on the older guys shoulder, subconsciously wrinkling his nose as he spoke.
Nodding, Liam shifted closer as he said "We do. I'm sorry. Really sorry, Niall. For what I said. About-"
"I know. I'm sorry I forced you to say it." Biting his lip as he met Liam's gaze, Niall ran a hand through his hair before he said "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have forced you to say that. I should have mentioned it to you, you were right, we are... we're supposed to talk about these things."
Linking his fingers through Niall's, Liam let out a sigh of relief. "I still should have been supportive of you. Like a boyfriend is supposed to be. And you're not a bitch. I shouldn't have called you that, I didn't mean what I said, you know that, right?"
Standing up, Niall leant into Liam, holding his breath before he smiled a genuine smile for the first time since Friday, the word 'boyfriend' giving him hope as he said, "And you aren't an ass, you know. And I'm really sorry for everything. Do you think, maybe, we could.... pretend that Friday and everything went differently?"
Wrapping an arm around Niall's waist, Liam returned his smile before giving Niall a different kind of answer, slowly brushing Niall's fringe out of his face and kissing him.
Pulling back, Niall wrapped his arms around Liam's neck, gripping his shirt in his fist before kissing him back, Liam's hand gripping his hip tightly. "So... we're okay?"
Laughing, Liam sat back down, pulling Niall onto his lap as he said "I'd say we were better than okay."
Looking at the takeout menu's scattered across the worktop, Niall smiled at Liam again before giving him a questioning stare.
Shrugging, Liam held up one of the menus as he said "What? I was going to cook dinner to help thaw the ice, but we both know I can't cook, unless you want half burned, half uncooked pancakes. It's a toss up between Chinese takeout or Pizza."
"You're an idiot at times, Li." Laughing, Niall show his head as he spoke, grabbing the pizza menu and flicking through it before handing it back to Liam.
Kissing Niall again, Liam breathed in his scent, having missed the inexplicable combination of mint, chocolate and vanilla, a combination that was purely Niall, before saying "Only for you, my love."
_____________________________________
dedicating this chapter to :
@jlazyb25
because, whilst it isn't quite how this chapter goes, her comment made me almost rewrite it.