icicle ♡ narry christmas au [COMPLETE]

seven

a couple of minutes later, niall steps back from the kiss, cheeks pink. he shyly plays with the hem of the shirt he's wearing, unable to look harry in the eyes.

"hey," harry says gently, putting a hand to niall's pink cheek. "was that okay?"

at that, niall nods shyly, still biting his lower lip. then, out of the blue, he lets out a delighted giggle and hugs harry around the waist.

"what was that for?" harry asks with a laugh, hugging niall back. he can't help but think that he fits in his arms perfectly; he doesn't want to let go.

"you punched zayn!" niall lets out a peal of laughter again, which makes harry laugh, too.

"yeah, i did. i'm sorry. sounded like he deserved it, though." at the mention of the punch, harry realized that his hand really hurts. when he looks down, his knuckles are split and bleeding. "ow," he mumbles.

niall pulls back out of the hug to see why harry said that, and lets out a gasp at the state of harry's hand. "does it hurt?"

harry winces when niall touches it. "uh, yeah. a little." he's lying, of course; it hurts like hell, and when he looks down, one of his knuckles is swelling and turning purple.

"um...maybe we should go to the hospital," niall says, somewhat worriedly. harry starts to disagree, but niall just rolls his eyes and helps a groggy livi into the car.

- - -

"is daddy okay?" livi asks tearfully from where she's perched on niall's lap. he runs a soothing hand up and down her spine gently.

"yes, sweetheart, your daddy's going to be just fine," niall assures her gently. she sniffles and leans her head against niall's shoulder, and niall lets out a tiny smile and strokes her hair.

"you like my daddy...don't you?" livi asks quietly.

"i..." niall doesn't know how to answer that, doesn't know what harry would would him to say. "it's complicated, livi."

"no, it isn't," livi frowns, sitting up. "you like him. i know you do, 'cause you're acting just like i did with hannah."

"with hannah?" niall is so confused. "what are you talking about?"

"hannah was my girlfriend!" livi says this irritatedly, as if it should be obvious. "just like my daddy is your boyfriend!"

"your daddy isn't my boyfriend!" 

"yes, he is!" livi is genuinely upset, and when harry comes out of the hospital room, hand wrapped in gauze, livi lets out a frustrated sob. she climbs off of niall's lap and buries her face in the front of harry's shirt.

"hey, sweetheart, what's going on?" harry asks, confused, awkwardly trying to scoop his daughter up using only one hand. "what happened?" he asks niall, because livi is just crying stormily into the collar of his shirt.

niall runs a hand through his hair. "she was...we..."

"he says it's not your boyfriend," livi says in a crackly voice, eyes puffy and damp and hair streaked across her face. "he's lying and i don't like liars, daddy."

"oh." harry adjusts livi on his hip, and his gaze flickers to niall. guilt is written all over his face. "sweetheart, he's not lying, he's not my boyfriend," he says to livi, but his gaze is on niall. "yet."

niall's eyebrows shoot up, and then his lips curve into a tiny smile.

"but i saw you kissing," livi says, confused. "you thought i was sleeping. you can only kiss your boyfriend!"

harry laughs as niall's cheeks go pink. "you can only kiss your boyfriend," harry says, poking olivia's little tummy. "i, on the other hand, can kiss whoever i want."

livi wrinkles her nose. "that's not fair!"

niall shakes his head, taking harry's hand when he offers it as they leave. "well, i'm a grown up," harry says. he's still smiling at niall. "it's fair to me."

- - -

a few hours later, niall is reading in bed when there's a knock on his door. for a minute, there is a sinking, terrifying fear that it's zayn, but when he looks through the peephole, harry is standing on the other side of the door.

"hi," niall says softly, smiling as he pulls the door open.

"hey." harry's voice is soft, and his eyes roam over niall's face, gaze fond. "uh, i got a baby-sitter."

"...okay?" niall says, a laugh in his voice, confused.

harry smiles, biting his lip for a second. his dimples are showing. "uh, would you like to go out with me?"

niall beams. "let me grab my coat.'

- - -

"it's freezing," niall says, but he says it delightedly. he has a pink beanie on, and harry can't stop smiling at the side of his face. "where did you get a pickup truck?"

"my brother," harry admits. "ashton is weird."

that makes niall laugh. "i bet i would like him. my brother is weird, too."

"you have a brother?" harry asks, eyebrows raised.

niall nods. "his name's luke. maybe you'll meet him sometime."

that makes harry smile, and he grows silent until they get to their destination.

"oh, my gosh," niall whispers.

harry has parked at the entrance of a lane of christmas lights. they're lit up in various shapes and colors, and niall lets out a quiet, delighted gasp.

"how did you --"

"i saw how excited you were about the christmas trees," harry says quietly, worming his hand into niall's tiny one. "i thought maybe you'd get a kick out of this." he gets out of the truck and spreads a blanket in the back. niall laughs when he sits on the blanket across from harry, and accepts a mug of tea that harry hands him. 

"this is lovely," he says softly. "thank you."

harry just winks back, and then, with a small smirk, he says, "would you look at that?"

niall looks up to see mistletoe hanging above them, attached to a wire taped to the cab of the truck. "you're a sap," he says, but he's smiling.

harry is smiling, too. "do i get a kiss or what?"

and yes. yes, he does.