icicle ♡ narry christmas au [COMPLETE]

four

"daddy!" livi ran in and jumped on harry's bed, and harry laughed when she got tangled up in the sheets on the bottom of the bed.

"hi, sweet pea," harry said, still chuckling, helping her untangle herself from the sheets. "what are you doing?"

livi crawled up so that she was laying on the pillows next to her father. her cheek was smushed against the fabric and she closed her eyes for a second, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks. a second later she popped them open again. "it's nearly christmas!"

"that is true, sweetheart." harry waited patiently as livi dozed off for a second again.

"can we pick a tree? and have pancakes? and ask niall if he wants to come with us?"

harry was surprised. "you want to ask niall to come with us?" it'd been a few days since they'd moved in, and they hadn't seen their beautiful neighbor since they day they'd met.

"can we, please?"

harry shrugged his shoulders when livi stared up at him. "i suppose so."

"yay!" livi let out a delighted squeal and leapt off the bed, scrambling to get to her bedroom to pull on some clothes. with a fond head shake, harry pulled on a sweater and jeans and lazy pulled on a beanie. when harry left his bedroom, livi was sitting on the floor, struggling to pull on her own pair of jeans under a (hideous) christmas sweater harry had bought her the year before. "like my sweater, daddy?" she pulled on the hem proudly.

"you look perfect, birdie. want me to do your hair?" livi giggled when he called her 'birdie,' as it was her favorite nickname of his, and nodded. she sat at the kitchen table, swinging her legs as harry ran a brush through her curls.

"braid, daddy, please?" she pleaded, and harry managed a simple braid down her back. "okay. can we go see if niall wants to come now?"

harry checked the clock. it was after ten am, so he deemed it a respectable hour to knock on someone's door. "sure, liv."

- - -

niall was doing a bit of decorating in his apartment when he heard the knock at the door. he adjusted the hedgehog shaped cookie jar on the kitchen counter before going to answer the door, gingerbread padding alongside him.

"gingerbread!" livi exclaimed when the door opened, dropping to her knees to greet the puppy. gingerbread lapped up the affection, nuzzling into livi's palms.

"sorry about this," harry said, the genuine concern on his face making niall's heart melt.

"don't worry about it," niall smiled, adjusting his skirt. it was black, and he was wearing an off-the-shoulder shirt that said "merry christmas, ya filthy animal," on it.

"your shirt is funny," livi giggled when she stood up. "it's from home alone, right?"

"yeah," niall smiled. "smart kid."

livi beamed even brighter. "daddy...ask him," she urged, tugging on harry's shirtsleeve, suddenly shy.

harry nodded, giving her a small smile, making niall's heart flutter. seeing him interact with his daughter. "niall, livi wanted pancakes this morning and a bit later we're going to get our christmas tree, and she wanted to know if you'd like to come with us."

niall chewed on his lip, and then looked up at harry. he has to know. "just livi wanted to know?"

harry nearly swallowed his tongue. "i'd like for you to come, too," he said after a minute. niall smiled sweetly, cheeks pinking.

"okay," he said, beaming. "wait. am i invited for pancakes, too?"

"yes!" livi cheered delightedly. "and gingerbread, too!"

- - -

a few minutes later, they were back in harry and livi's apartment. livi was playing with gingerbread on the floor, giggling when she would toss a ball down the hallway and he would bring it back.

"i hope you like pancakes," harry said to niall, smiling. his dimples were showing, and niall felt like his heart had grown three sizes.

"i do. don't you worry," niall smiled, poking one of harry's dimples. it made harry smile deeper. "thank you for inviting me. it was very sweet of you."

"i wasn't sure you'd come," harry said honestly. he took one of niall's tiny hands in his own. his fingers were so small and slender, it didn't seem real.

"harry," niall said quietly. his voice had gone so somber that harry looked up from his hand to his face. "do you think it's weird? that i wear girls' clothes?"

"no," harry said, almost before niall had finished his question. "no, i really, really don't."

niall smiled. god, that was pretty. "okay. good." they fell silent again, niall playing with harry's fingers. "harry," he said again.

"mmm?"

"are you married?"

the bluntness of the question made harry laugh. "no. i was, but i'm not now," he said. he saw no reason to lie, and...though he'd just met him, he liked niall, despite how soon it was.

"okay," niall said, still smiling. he looked so sweet and soft, smiling up at harry like that. harry's heart was turning to mush. "good."

livi watched them from where she was playing with gingerbread on the floor and smiled.