𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 » 𝘻𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺

🌻40🌻

after things got a little bit heated between the two men, they haven't spoken about it to one another. when zayn came back home after cooling down, he didn't say a word to liam visa versa. now, the next day had arrived and the tension in the air is thick enough to slice through with a knife. the couple had slept in different rooms the night before in order to avoid one another.

whenever either one of them walked into a room where the other was, the other would walk out, not wanting to be in the same room or space as the other. the boys had picked up on the icy tension between the two of them. they'd heard them yelling at one another yesterday, before zayn had walked out and slammed the door loud enough for everyone to hear. that put them all in a weird mood today, and everyone had been almost as quiet as a mouse.

it's very rare to witness their dads fight like this. they're normally civilized and private whenever they have a disagreement, but are always able to get past it almost instantly. however, this time felt different, they were avoiding one another like a plague, either one of them not wanting to be the first to bring up the issue and try to resolve it.

it was like they were having a contest on who could hold out the longest, and it was completely killing the vibe in the entire house. so yeah, it's been a pretty rough and weird morning for everyone. the boys had steered clear of their dads most of the day, just doing their own thing. louis and niall were in the game room, playing super mario smash bros, while harry (as always) sat cross legged on the floor, watching them.

as badly as he wanted to go talk to his baba, he felt too nervous to approach him. zayn seemed to be in a very bad mood, such a bad mood that he hadn't even come down to eat breakfast this morning with the family, leaving liam with the boys. therefore, maybe the man didn't want to be bothered by anyone. perhaps later he would feel better, and he and papa would make up.

"can i play?" harry asks after sitting through a few more rounds watching the other two fight one another. niall just shrugs, eyes glued to the screen.

"wait till this match is over, h." he replies. harry smiles widely, nodding eagaerly.

"i would say no, but i think i'll be nice today." louis replies. harry crosses his arms.

"you're never nice to me, lou. i won't believe it until you do." harry says. louis smirks evilly.

"good judgement, little one."

"i'm not little, i'm only a year down from you!" harry exclaims. louis scoffs.

"i'll treat you that way when you start acting your age." louis responds. harry opens his mouth to snap back at him, but he can't think of anything. he grumbles, cheeks red as he sits there with his arms crossed. louis laughs under his breath, continuing to play the game. finally, after the match ended—niall winning—harry was able to hook up a controller and play with them as well.

of course, during the time he was playing, louis kept being the less nice brother that he is and went after harry every time a new match started, killing him off first before he could even get much play time in and laughing every time harry would get upset with him and whine like a sore loser. it's always entertaining to get on his little brother's nerve, what are siblings for?

they played for a little while longer, engrossed in their video game. soon enough, liam came in to check on them and tell them that he ordered take out pizza for everyone, because he didn't feel like cooking which is rare to hear him say because liam loves cooking, it's like a type of hobby for him. that's how the boys knew he wasn't in the best of moods, and that the fight may have been worse than they thought. the two men still haven't made up yet, nor attempted to talk to one another.

the boys stopped the game so that they could come down and have some pizza. once again zayn isn't present at the table, while liam remained quiet, eating a bowl of salad, or more so stabbing it with a fork and occasionally putting some in his mouth. the boys sat awkwardly around the table eating their pizza, feeling too much tension to actually open their mouths and talk.

that is, until harry decided to open his mouth and talk after several minutes of silence.

"papa?" he says. liam hums, not looking up from his plate.

"yes, harry?"

"um, where is baba?" he asks timidly, fiddling with his fingers. liam sighs deeply with a shrug.

"i don't know, love." he answers calmly.

"when will he come back?" harry asks.

"not sure, haz." liam answers again. harry bites down on his bottom lip.

"will baba ever come back.." harry whispers. liam finally looks up from his plate, his face softening slightly, as he smiles sadly.

"of course he will, love." liam tells him. harry looks at him sadly.

"i don't want daddy to leave us, i don't want you to get a divorce." harry says, his eyes becoming glossy. liam shakes his head slightly.

"we're not getting divorced harry, don't think like that." liam tells him softly. although, he knew it wasn't harry's fault and he couldn't help but think that way. he as well as niall and louis all have struggled with abandonment issues, seeing as they'd all been abandoned by their real parents. niall and louis used to be the same way, and although that trauma never really went away, they were just better at hiding it now that they were older.

however, harry tends to still be overly emotional and always thought the worse any time something happens. liam feels hurt that they would ever think liam or zayn would ever even dream of walking out of their lives, especially over one silly fight. the only thing he could really do at this point is to reassure them that everything would be okay. while their family may not be perfect, they always got through things when it got tough.

"zayn would never leave you guys, okay? he's just upset right now, as am i. we said some pretty rude things to one another, but i promise you it's not as bad as you fear it is." liam explains to them.

"promise?"

"i promise." liam replies. harry nods, feeling slightly better and continues to eat his pizza. liam smiles fondly at him and returns to staring down at his salad, stabbing gently at it with the fork. before long, they all hear the front door opening and liam lifts his head again. "speak of the evil, and he shall appear." he mutters under his breath.

"daddy!" harry jumps out of his seat and races to the man as he steps through the door. zayn grunts softly when he gets attacked by the teen and nearly has the wind knocked out of him. he wraps his arm around the brunette, hugging him tightly and pressing a kiss to his head briefly.

"easy baby."

"hey dad." niall greets him from behind harry as he walks up. zayn smiles, giving him a side hug.

"hey, bud. hey, lou." he greets as the other two teens walk in too. he's confused as to why they're all coming up to him at once. he looks over and spots liam by the entryway of the kitchen giving him a peculiar look. he looks away after they stare each other down for a moment, and smiles weakly at the teens. "okay boys, give me and papa some time alone. i'll talk with you later."

"okay." they all say in unison. zayn messes up their hair, before they all leave the two men alone together. zayn runs his fingers through his disheveled hair, exhaling deeply. liam's quietly looking down at his feet, silence filling the air between them as they both remained planted to the floor where they stood. liam sighs.

"you're ready to talk now..." he murmurs quietly.

"yeah, let's go sit down."

it's time to settle this for the sake of their kids, as well as their marriage.

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sorry, cliffhanger. but i really wanted to get this update today. promise i'll post the second part as soon as i can.

tell me what you think, i love you all ❤️