icicle ♡ narry christmas au [COMPLETE]

three

"livi-bear, wakey wakey," harry cooed gently to his sleeping daughter. she groaned in response, trying to roll over so she could sleep more, so he resorted to tickling her until she opened her big, green eyes. "there she is!" he cheered, tossing her over his shoulder as she giggled wildly.

"we're here, daddy?" she asked delightedly when he set her down. she squealed happily when he nodded. "can we go see the 'partment?"

"yeah, we can, love. put your backpack on, okay?" harry helped her sling her backpack on, and once she was cradling noodles safely in her arms, she followed her father into their apartment building. he pushed the door open, and she ran inside. "look, sweet pea!" he pushed the door open to livi's room, and she let out a delighted gasp. the walls were pale green, and most of her furniture was already there since harry had it shipped over a week earlier. 

"my bed is a cloud!" livi yelled excitedly, bouncing up and down. the headboard and footboard are shaped like clouds, with glow-in-the-dark stars glued to them. "can i still have my other stuffies and toys?"

"of course," harry says fondly, standing in the doorway. "should we get the rest of our stuff out of the car?"

"yes!" livi squealed. "i want to put my avengers sheets on my cloud bed!"

harry laughed. "okay, liv. we can do that."

for the next few hours, they got all of their stuff out of the car. olivia insisted on doing her room by herself, only asking her dad for help if something required a bit of assembly or she needed help (like making her bed). 

"daddy, i'm tired," livi whined after a few hours. they were mostly done. they didn't have as much stuff as most people when moving in, but harry was relatively minimalist anyway. 

"we can take a break," he nodded. "do you want lunch?"

livi nodded eagerly. "can i have a sandwich?"

"sure. pb&j?" livi nodded, climbing into her spot at the breakfast bar. harry made her sandwich and gave it to her on her favorite avengers plate. she beamed up at her father as she ate. "you've got crumbs all over your face, little one," he laughed, brushing the crumbs off her chin. 

"can i have some milk? please?"

harry gave her a glass of milk, and when she finished drinking it, her eyes went wide. 

"what's wrong?" he asked, concerned, and without saying anything, livi hopped off her seat and ran out the door. "olivia styles!" he yelled after her, barely remember to grab his key and slam the door shut behind him. "livi!?"

"over here, daddy!" she called back, and when he rounded the corner, he saw her kneeling on the floor, playing with their neighbor's corgi puppy. "i heard him barking!"

"livi, you can't just run away like that," harry snapped, voice angry because she'd frightened him. 

"sorry, daddy," she said, and giggled a little when the puppy licked her face. the owner of the puppy and the guy who lived in the apartment cautiously walked up to the doorway, looking confused. harry, who was still pinching the bridge of his nose with frustration, eyes shut, told livi to apologize for barging into his place. 

"i'm sorry," livi said, "i just heard your puppy barking and got -- oh, my gosh!" at that, harry opened his eyes, and his heart dropped to his stomach when he saw that their neighbor, who was definitely male, was wearing a grey skirt with a pale pink cropped sweater and white thigh highs. harry's face paled, not only at the sight, but also because he didn't know what livi was going to say.

"livi, we should go," he said quickly, trying to prevent the inevitable. 

"your skirt is so pretty!" livi squealed, clapping her hands. "you are so pretty!"

their neighbor's cheeks reddened, and harry's chest tightened at the sight. "thank you," he said shyly. "you're very pretty yourself! i see you've met my puppy, gingerbread."

livi giggled. "his name is gingerbread?"

"gingerbread is my favorite holiday treat, and he's gingerbread colored. it seemed fitting." he was smiling then, and harry felt dizzy. "i'm niall," he said to harry, putting a hand out.

"harry," harry smiled, shaking niall's hand. niall's hand was tiny and the nails were painted the same color as his shirt. "and this," harry scooped livi up and set her on his hip. "is my daughter, olivia."

"you can call me livi, though," livi smiled. "i love your doggy!"

niall laughed. "you're so sweet. you feel free to come by anytime and play with him, yeah? just knock."

livi hesitated, looking over at her father and then up at niall. "really?"

"yeah, of course, as long as your daddy says it's okay." niall was smiling at harry for real, eyes soft and crinkled at the sides, and fuck, harry wanted him. 

"okay," livi giggled. "thank you!"

"it was nice to meet you, niall," harry said gently, and niall's cheeks pinked as he smiled in response.

"he was so pretty, daddy," livi said quietly to harry as he carried her back to their apartment. she sounded as if she was in awe.

"yeah," harry said, sounding in awe as well. "he was."