icicle ♡ narry christmas au [COMPLETE]

one

"daddy?" olivia huffed as she put the last of the boxes of toys from her room in the van.

"yeah, baby?" harry knelt so he was the same height as his six-year-old daughter. it was december, and cold, and the tip of her little nose was as red as rudolph's.

"will santa be able to find us at our new house?" her lower lip jutted out. clearly, this was a major concern for her.

"don't you worry, little one," harry said with a smile, picking her up and gently placing her sock monkey hat on her head. "i'll give him a call myself when we get to our new home, just for you. i have no worries at all about him finding you." he kissed her forehead, just where her dark curls tumbled into her eyes. 

she gave him a delighted giggle and planted a kiss on the same spot on him. "can we listen to christmas music in the car? and can you put your hair up in a bun like you promised?"

harry let out a fond laugh. "yeah, livi, okay. just for you." he put her down so she could climb into the backseat, and put his hair up in a bun with the hair tie on his wrist. he gave one last, disappointed gaze to the house they were leaving and got into the car.

though harry and his ex-wife, caroline, had been broken up for nearly a year now, he still was sad about the whole thing. she'd refused to sign the divorce papers when he found her cheating, and harry only stayed in the house with her because he'd noticed that she was neglectful of livi when he wasn't there.

luckily, after nearly a year of constant fighting, she signed the papers, and almost less than 24 hours later, he was getting himself and his daughter the hell out of there.

"jingle bells, daddy?" livi pressed, and he realized he'd been staring at nothing for a good few minutes.

"sorry, doll. sure thing." the aux cord was a bit janky, but one end of it was shaped like a dog and the other a bone, and livi loved it, so harry would keep it until it didn't work anymore. livi let out a delighted cheer and loudly sang along as harry drove down the street.

"how far of a drive is it to washington, daddy?" livi asked about an hour in, crunching loudly on a handful of pretzels.

"a looong drive," harry responded honestly. they'd lived in northern california, but harry was originally from seattle, and it was the first place he'd thought to go when leaving. "we'll have to sleep in a hotel for a night."

"can i bring my stuffie into the hotel?" livi honestly sounded worried, as if stuffed penguins weren't allowed in hotels or something.

"i suppose so," harry said with a smile. "if you're good."

"'m always good," livi grinned.

"i know you are, sweet girl."

- - -

"don't go, please," niall begged. he knew this was pathetic, that whatever he and zayn had, it was coming to an end, but he needed him to stay. "please. don't make me be alone for christmas."

zayn actually looked sad. "ni, you know i care about you, but i can't stay." he started to pack his things, lit cigarette in his mouth.

"you can't smoke in here!" niall yelped. his landlord had already been angry about the obvious stench of weed zayn left in the apartment, and having the place reek of cigs wouldn't exactly help.

"that's what i mean!" zayn said angrily, but put out the cigarette in the ashtray anyway. "you're always nagging, niall!"

niall's eyes welled up with tears. "i'm sorry," he said weakly. "but please stay. just until christmas." he couldn't bear to spend the holidays alone again.

zayn gave him a small smile. "you're a good fuck, ni, but not the kind of person i'd spend the holidays with. i am sorry." he ruffled the blonde's hair, and niall held his breath. he could feel the shattering happening inside, because he'd been in love with zayn since they'd met three years ago. he only took large, gasping breaths when he couldn't handle it anymore, and after zayn left, he cried in his bed for an hour.

when he was done, and his eyes were sore, he laid on his back, because he knew he couldn't live like this anymore. 

"better days are coming," he whispered to himself, tired, swollen eyes slowly closing. "better days are coming, better days are coming, better days are coming."

- - -

a/n: it's not too late to tell me if this should be girly!niall or not! let me know and based on the votes the next chapter will go either way!