⁠☞ narry one-shots

✎ as it was

Tw : includes mentions of past mpreg

 : singlefather!niall, model!harry

"Deddy! I aweke! I aweke!" A squeaky voice clawed into my peaceful slumber.

Groaning in frustration, I knew exactly what was going to come next.

Without warning, a small body slammed into my own and I felt a heavy weight climb up my chest and perch on my head.

"Aweke deddy! You aweke too!" My 3 year old son squirmed around, bouncing up and down on my face.

I gently shrugged him off and heaved the sheets over my head, "Daddy needs two more hours, bud, go make some mud pies or shit."

A loud squeal of mock horror.

Oh fuck.

"DEDDY SWORE! SWEAR JAR! SWEAR JAR!" he screeched into my ear and my body jerked foreward, eyes flying open.

I opened my mouth to argue back but he cut me off.

"SWEAR JAR! DEDDY MOUTH SEDING BADDIE WORS!" he screamed louder and I clapped my hand over his mouth, silencing him.

"Please, Clay. I'll do whatever you want, make you pancakes for breakfast even. Just let daddy get ten more minutes!" I pleaded, desperation lacing my voice.

I eyed him sluggishly as he dramatically scratched his chin in a thoutful manner "Deddy pway mermaids in pool with Clay baby?"

I sleepily raise my hands in a thumbs up and sigh in contentment as he shuffles off the bed with a simple ,"Otay."

Nuzzling deeper into my pillow, I silently thank the Lord for this moment of sleep he blessed me with.

Pathetic I know.

But being a single father is possibly the most tiring job in all of history.

Suddenly a wailing siren-like voice filled up the room once again and I felt myself almost topple over as Clay shoved into me again.

"20 minion hours done! Aweke Deddy!" He sloppily kissed my cheek before dragging his wet tongue down to my chin.

Fuck. I forgot the kid couldn't count.

Whining in protest, I bitterly withdrew my appreciative message to God in my head.

No one gives me a fucking break.

I stiffen abruptly and go very still : if I'm waking up now, might as well wake up with a bang.

The boy curiously pokes my cheek before whispering, "Deddy ok?"

He's so fricking cute.

Suddenly I let out a bellowing roar and scoop him in my arms, attacking him with tickles.

He bursts into peals of laughter while trying to push my hands away in vain.

"Are you trying to escape, the beast?" I playfully growl as he squirms out my grip and runs away.

Throwing the sheets off, I jump out of bed and chase him into the kitchen.

"Da beastie carn catch me!"he giggled, turning around slightly to look back at me.

My eyes widened in horror as his body headed straight for the wall.

He was going to fucking crash!

With three quick strides, I engulfed him in my arms and spun around, placing his body on the kitchen counter.

"Clayton! You have to watch where you're going, pumpkin." I scolded him and he widened his eyes innocently.

"Sowwy Deddy. Eat bweakfest now?" He clings to my shirt and his stomach let out a grumble.

I chuckled before balancing him on my hip and making my way to the pantry.

"So Mr Mermaid, are we going for an under-the-sea blueberry muffin with a side of cheesy Goldfish, or Pixie Dust Crunch in strawberry milk and a magical cup of fairy nectar." I asked him in a mock profressional voice.

"Under-the-sea! Just like Ariel!" He squeals in excitement and I sit him down on his high chair.

I smile at him, before reaching into the fridge and grabbing the already prepared muffin.

Yes, Clayton was mega Disney and fantasy fan, and was especially interested in mermaids, fairies and unicorns.

I absolutely loved that about him. He was so free and passionate about it, my heart melted at the thought of him being able to enjoy things that I never could have even thought of going without getting discriminated.

Of course there were the occasional bullies or naive dumb fucks who like to stereotype his interests as 'girly' or 'too feminine', but mostly everyone in our small town fully supported and adored him.

"UNCLE LOU IS IN THE HOUSE!" a loud voice bellowed from the front, almost drowning the faint clicking of door out.

Louis. Most definitely a close second to me in the competition of Clayton's love.

He visits as often as everyday. Maybe I shouldn't have given him a spare key to our house?

I poured some goldfish into a small container and delivered the food to Clay's tray table.

Blueberry muffins were his absolute favorite, especially with the mermaid sprinkles and blueberry sauce.

I usually have to mash the muffins up, though, not just because it's easier to eat, but because it easier to make look like the 'mermaid's house'.

Louis suddenly burst into the kitchen and immediately scooped Clayton up in his arms, attacking him with playful kisses, "My favourite godson!"

"Uncle Wou! Wanna pway mermaids wiff me and Deddy?" Clay squished their cheeks together and wrapped his arms around his Louis'head.

"Sure bud, but you gotta eat breakfast first." Louis plastered one more kiss the the crown of my son's head before putting him back down in his high chair and walking to me.

"Hey mate," I go in for the 'bro-hug' as we greet eachother.

We clap our hands together and bump our shoulders roughly before parting again.

"What's up Nialler? How you doing today?" He ruffles my hair in a brotherly manner and I pout.

That fucker always goes out of his way to make sure I get my daily dose of annoyance.

"The usual, I guess, but Clayton has become quite a handful now." Sighing, I sank onto one of my bar stools and Louis followed my actions.

He stares at me with worry and I could tell that the bags under my eyes and sickly pale skin was concerning him quite a lot.

"How about I hang with the little man today and you take a mental health day."

I open my mouth to protest, but he gives me a pointed look.

That's what I love about Louis.

Number one was the fact that he didn't treat Clay like a burden of a little kid he has to 'babysit' but more of a friend he loves to 'hang out' with.

Number two was that he was always ready to help me. One of the many reason he was my rock and emotional support.

When I found out I was pregnant, he was the only one who would constantly be there to help me.

The father had left a few weeks before I even found out, leaving me heartbroken. And the idea of me raising a child all on my own was enough to send me into a deep depression.

But Louis was there for me, always patient and kind. He even moved in with me when I hit 6 months.

Thank god he did too, because not even a month later I had experienced some complications in the pregnancy and had to be rushed into an emergency c-section. If Louis wasn't there to help me - I shuddered - I could've been lost both mine and Clay's life.

"That was the fucking scariest moments of my whole fucking life!"he later sobbed to me, and I knew from that moment that both of us were in for the long run.

Brothers till death do us part.

Clay's father had left me just before I found out, the homophobia of his family and friends had driven him to run away with a young brunette chick.

After that, I moved to England, Holmes Chapel with Louis to start afresh.

My family from Ireland visited me every holiday and had come to see Clay just after he had been born. They were a bit disappointed that my ex had left because they really hit on well together.

Louis, however, hated him with a passion. Even still, when his name was mention he would clench his fists so tightly that it would bleach all the colour from his knuckles.

For me, the first two years were filled with wounds that kept reopening and nightmares that I could never chase away. But as time passed, the bitterness of his memory had somewhat faded away and had left the underlying fondness full the void.

Clay looked exactly like his other dad with long chocolaty curls that bounced whenever he toddled around and wide forest green eyes that darkened whenever he got angry. The only features he probably got from me was my extremely pale complexion and round plump lips.

He looked like a little cherub angel and I literally adored him from the moment I set my eyes upon his wailing bundle.

Even if I had to do it alone, I was determined to give him the best fucking life ever.

Sometimes it's hard to pretend that I don't miss HIM though.

A few weeks ago, Clay had come to me in a bout of curiousity right after daycare.

"Deddy? Where is my Mummy? Everyone at scwool has a Mummy but me?" He had perched on my knee and fiddled with my hair.

Immediately I froze. I thought I had more time to prepare for this question, "You don't have a Mummy, my sweet. You have another Daddy, a Papa."

He just looked at me confusedly, "Where is he Deddy? Does he not wike Clay baby? Becize one time Suzie lost Hazel's dollie and Hazel screamed loud loud and then ran away."

I had felt tears pool in my eyes as had pain had spiked in my heart, "No, pumpkin, quite the opposite. Papa loved you so so much that his love was overflowing everywhere. He needed to leave for a bit to find somewhere to put it, so he could give it back to you. When he finds a way to channel his love, he'll be back." I had softly explained to him.

Clayton had just grinned so widely before running off to tell his toys about his 'new Papa' who has gone on an 'adventure to find him the perfect present.'

Later on I had called Louis over and sobbed into his arms, Clay had triggered memories in me that I had surpressed for such a long time that it needed to be let out.

I could only imagine what I would've said if Clay had asked me too early. He definitely wouldn't have been cheering about how much he loved his Papa.

"How about, you go shopping for a bit Nialler, and I'll chill with Clay until you come back." Louis suggested, snapping me out of my daze.

He fully knows that I won't leave my son with him for the whole day.

It's too much trouble.

And it's just not fair on the poor child. That man in crazy.

"Fine." I slump my shoulders before standing up and planting a kiss of Clayton's head, "Hey, buddy, Daddy is going to go out for a bit. Uncle Lou will spend the day with you, yeah?"

He absentmindedly nodded, playing with his goldfish as if they were 'swimming' in the muffin with the mermaids.

I sighed and smiled at Louis before heading into my room to change.

This was going to be a long day.

*************************

"Bye Zayn!" I waved to my friend as he walks to his car, precariously balancing all his new art supplies in 3 big bags.

Ok, today wasn't totally bad. Zayn and I manage to absolutely pillage through so many stores, buying cool band tees and sick vinyls.

Sometimes I forget that I'm actually a 24 year old man and not a middle-aged dad.

Guess fatherhood can do that to you.

Turning back into the shopping centre I enter my favourite cafe, 'Tea with Cyborgs.'

Walking in, I quickly check the time on my phone : 12:56pm.

Okay as long as I get back by 2:00 I will be fine, which mean I have around one hour to get something to eat and buy some new toys for Cla-.

My thoughts were interupted by a hard chest bumping into my head and the cold feeling of a cream pie splattering on my face.

Just my luck.

"Shit, I'm sorry. Let me help you." A deep voice rumbled into my reddening ears and I felt the sensation of a fabric swiping around my face.

Soon, I could actually see without white cream clouding my view and I graciously accepted a wet cloth from one of the workers to wipe the rest off my face.

Lifting my head, I opened my mouth to apologise to the mystery man but choked on my own breath as our eyes locked.

"Niall?!"

"Harry?!"

We stammered out simultaneously.

It was at that moment that one of the cafe employees politely asked us to sit down on one of the tables if we wanted to order something.

"Sorry, I'll be leaving right now." I gave both of them a curt nod before turning on my heel.

"No Niall, wait!" His large hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me down onto one of the seats.

I raised an eyebrow at his desperate face and leaned back in my seat, trying to mask my terror, "What do you want Harry."

"I just want to talk...please." he stared at me with fear laced his eyes and I nodded in pity, snatching my hand away from his grip.

"Uh...How have you been?"

"Well enough." I flippantly respond before adding, "Why are you doing this?"

He tugs on his right ear slightly and I fight off a wave of nostalgia. It had always been a nervous habit of his.

"It's been years, Niall."

Three years, twenty one days and - I checked the time - nine hours. But who's counting?

"Oh, so it has." I brush off his comment bitterly, resentment rising up in my chest.

My eyes subtly scrutinised him. He looked...good. His long curls had been chopped off and styled into neat quiff that accentuated his face structure and jawline to perfection. His arms had gotton buffer and had gained quite a number of tattoos. He looked more mature and MANLY.

Scowling, I wondered how he could look so angelic after committing such a demonic crime.

"Soo...what are you doing here?" I tried to act not interested.

"Mum and Gem decided to move back to Holmes Chapel for some business shit and I'm just here to move the boxes around. After that, it's back to LA." He smiled awkwardly.

"Ohh right the place you ditched me to go to and persue your dreams with that stupid slut." I rolled my eyes.

He winced, "For the record, she was only a beard so I could leave the toxic life with Des and move with my Mum."

I shrugged so he took it as a gesture to continue.

"I did come back a couple of months later after I got my life sorted out but you were gone. Moved here, I suppose."

I scoffed, "After YOU got your life sorted. Geez and I'm the one still left with your mess."

"Why are you being so sour?" He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes burning holes into my own stare.

I let out a humourless laugh, "Why am I being so sour? Really Harry? You sure have gotton dumber over the years."

His eyes darkened slightly, "Surely you aren't still bitter about...past mistakes?"

"You left me Harry." I spat out, "Worse of all, you left me alone with something that almost killed me a couple of years ago. Something I have to carry for a lifetime now."

He visibly paled, "No Niall. It's not possible. You must have gotten it from somewhere else, because I didnt-don't have any STD's!"

Oh my god. The dumb fuck.

I felt myself dangerously sway in my seat as a rush of lightheadedness filled my brain, "Gimme a sec."

I held out my hand asking him to wait but he obviously did not know how to read social cues.

"Ni I don't think you should be out alone in this... condition. You look deathly sick, sweetheart." His eyes scanned my body and I felt like exploding.

"I don't have a bloody STD you idiot!" I snapped at him, my brain trying to silence the fluttering of my heart at the pet name.

"Then what are you talking a-"

Harry's confusion was silenced by ringing of my phone.

I thank the heavens for this moment and answer the call, "Hello?"

"Sir Niall, Mr MerKing Clay and I need a rainbow fish for our mermaid adventures and we both have come to the decision that you are the perfect match." Louis' voice dramatically declared.

I let out a breathy laugh, "I'm honoured. Tell Clay I love him and that I'll be home soon."

"Your message will be passed onto our MerKing. We hope to see you soon."

"Okay Lou, bu-bye" I hung, grinning to myself.

God, I loved those idiots.

Harry suddenly cleared his throat from across me and I could see jealousy laced in eyes, "Uh-your boyfriend?"

His presence flustered me up slightly but I quickly rose to my feet, "Well, Harry, it was really lovely to see you again and catch up but I really need to go now."

Just as I rushed out of the shopping centre, his voice interupted me once more, "Wait!"

I stop in my tracks.

Fuck my life.

"Do-do you...um...have a ride?" he stuttered.

"Yes. The bus." I abruptly answered his question and continued walking.

"Wait!"

Oh my god. Leave me alone.

"Do you want to ride with me? The bus comes in another 30 minutes and I can drive you there quickly."

I raised my eyebrow, "Does this mean you will finally leave me alone afterwards?"

He vigorously nodded.

"Fine."