Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most {Niam}

Five-

The weekend having been a three-day, Niall spent the next day with Liam and invited him over.

It wasn't uncommon for Liam to come home with Niall.

At least, it wasn't in the past. Pre-Mitch days, that is. He came over now and then, to hang out for a couple hours or so, but that was about it. They hadn't properly stayed with each other for quite some time now. However, they weren't questioned - Niall was glad for this, because he was really too upset, too tired, to answer anything.

Liam returned the greeting that Niall's parents had given him as he walked in the door, his blonde cousin asleep in his arms. Harry and Zayn were looking at the two in confusion - Niall didn't like being carried by anyone but Liam, and it was just a tad bit peculiar.

"He fell asleep in the car, on the way over here," Liam explained, shifting his weight but otherwise standing completely still. He didn't feel weird exactly, but it had been so long since he had really had a conversation with Zayn and Harry. And it was even worse considering the two were cuddling close on the sofa, watching a movie with wine on the coffee table. It was five in the afternoon, give or take, and Liam felt like he had interrupted something. "S'been a long day for him so far, I guess."

To say at the least. Niall had gotten into a fight with Liam, into a fight with his boyfriend...Liam felt bad for his younger cousin. Especially knowing that he was kind of to blame for all of this - the beginning part, at least. He hadn't meant to critique Mitch, really. Yet, the past events in consideration, he felt like he had a damn good reason.

"Right," Harry had frowned at his nephew's words. He didn't know if something was really wrong with his son, or if it was just some weird teenage thing. Having gone through the drama that he personally had, he would never wish bad for his baby boy.

Liam started up the stairs, praying to any god out there that he didn't drop Niall. As he went up, he could hear Harry and Zayn beginning to speak to each other. He wondered what about, but stopped once he realized that he knew the answer.

Niall.

When he reached Niall's room, clean with everything in place, he set his cousin down on the bed and laid down right beside him. He wound his arms around Niall's waist, and held him close to his body - back against chest, face in hair. Liam felt like the tighter he held him, the more Niall would be protected from harm.

He tightened his grip.

~-~-~

Harry woke up in the middle of the night, as per usual.

Panic attacks tended to run on his side of the family - minus his brother, who was always so carefree. Niall wasn't his biological son, of course, but the blonde actually tended to get them worse than his father did.

Harry gently removed his arms from around his husbands waist, having played big spoon in their cuddle for all the years they had been together. He left the bed, left the room, and headed upstairs - making sure that everything was in line.

It had been years ago, when Niall was only twelve, but ever since that moment Harry had always felt obligated as to check up on him.

He had woken up at two in the morning, as he usually did, and gone to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. He had simply been sitting at the kitchen table, tugging at his curls and sweating as he waited for the attack to subside. That had been when his little fatherly instict started nagging at him, telling him that not everything was okay within the household.

He had gone upstairs, ever so quietly as to not wake anyone up, and gave a light knock to the door of his son's bedroom. He had heard whimpers, soft as they were, and entered the room.