Angel on the Streets {shiall}

24

"HA! I WON AGAIN, BITCHES!" Niall looked around at the annoyed or defeated expressions on everyone's faces then at Shawn who'd sucked the most at this, having never played before. Every time he took a shot, he'd instantly look to Shawn for validation and that just irritated everyone even more about their stagnant relationship. Still, Shawn always gave it, encouraged by how Niall always came close for each shot he'd take to position his arms and correct his stance. Niall being demanding might have pissed off a normal person but Shawn felt giddy about being told what to do, like the utter simp he was.

"You did great, Ni, congrats." Shawn threw a lazy arm around his shoulder and Zayn did so on the other side of him, letting out a whine.

"Niall, I love you and I've gained newfound respect for your profession now that I know how boring and slow, yet competitive as hell it gets. Still. I'm tired and Liam needs to eat capiche?"

"Wh- no! Another round!" They all grimaced. The parents had stayed back, then Greg had used Theo's tiredness an excuse to slip away, leaving just him and the boys. Niall huffed and turned to Shawn, knowing he was his last hope. But Shawn looked tired himself, eyes drooping. "Baby... Tell em we should stay?"

"I dunno, Ni... Umm... A break might be good for everyone. It's already afternoon and the sun's beating down extra hard-"

"But that's part of the fun!" He sighed and spared one last glance at Shawn, then shrugged his shoulders. "Alright. Fine. You're right, everyone's tired. None of you better say I never did anything for you."

"Pssh you didn't do it for us, you did it for your baby," Louis said, fluttering his eyelashes at Niall. Shawn instantly went red.

"Mhmm, your precious angel," Liam doubled down.

"I did a whole spittake on air when you flat out called him kitten in front of us, do the world a favour and save that shit for the bedroom," Zayn added sharply, face twisted into a heavy grimace. Harry burst out laughing which caused the rest to and Niall gripped a blushing Shawn's wrist, stomping away from them.

"You're all jackasses! The lot of ya!"

"We love you, mate!" They chorused at his back, Louis throwing in a wolf-whistle that made the Canadian's entire face turn cherry. Niall helped him into the golf cart and they drove off. To Shawn's confusion, Niall suddenly stopped on the way. He led Shawn to the sandy part, which he remembered was called 'bunker' or something. And he instantly realised what he wanted to do when the professional golfer freaking wiggled his eyes at him.

"I am not going down there."

"Wh-why not?"

"Because, piglet, that's sand that I definitely don't need to get everywhere. Remember when Zayn's ball went in here?"

"It's better than when Liam's dropped into the water hazard- I mean lake, for a layman like yourself."

"Arrogant prat."

"Be the Merlin to my Arthur, then. Trust me. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Fun, he said. Trust me, he said. Shawn sank down into the sand, wondering when the good part was meant to come in. But to his surprise, Niall seemed completely at ease and warmed by the sand, while Shawn felt like he was being burned. He was clearly at home, here. Good thing they'd decided to come. He'd seen Niall in a lot of states but never as at peace as he was here. And he had to admit... watching him so fiery and focused on beating everyone, muscles always gorgeously taunt before he fired each precisely calculated shot was hot.

"Niall, not that I don't think this is great but why-"

"Shh. Can you hear that?" Shawn strained a bit, looking around. He could hear the breeze, a bit. Some birds, too and the soft sounds coming from the lake if he listened hard enough. But other than that, there wasn't much to listen for.