Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Thirty-Five

Niall

Liam was sat in his living room.

Liam was sitting on the sofa with Chloe, watching TV with her and listening to her as she chattered on about her latest imaginary game.

Once again, Liam had taken him up on his offer to join them for dinner, like he'd done the previous Thursday and multiple occasions before, and had somehow ended up curled up next to Chloe, laughing with her and smiling over at Niall every so often.

Liam was sat in his living room and, to Niall, it was as though he belonged there.

It was nice, it truly was. Even the little voice of doubt that liked to nag at Niall had fallen silent, and Niall could smile back at Liam, unable to keep the fond expression off his face as he joined him and their daughter, immediately being pulled into their bubble of chatter and laughter and the occasional scene from Mulan.

Monday nights after Chloe had been picked up from the sitter and they'd walked home usually involved a Disney film and dinner, either pizza or chicken nuggets since Chloe would get to choose, and it felt like Liam fitted in with their routine. Having Liam around also made the evenings seem better. He hadn't stopped bringing things with him, pudding to have after whatever Niall had ended up cooking, Disney films to appease Chloe and watch with her, and he'd always managed to make Niall smile in a way he wasn't expecting.

That in itself was a good thing. Niall hadn't smiled like that for a while before Liam came back. (Seven-ish years might be a fucking long time, but it sounded less awful if you simply said 'a while'). There was a difference between the smiles Niall had worn, smiles born out of love for Chloe and amusement by her, and the smiles Liam brought out in him.

When he'd smile, he'd smile like he was sixteen again, smiles that made it easier to ignore the pangs of uncertainty, smiles that made him feel like it wasn't so crazy to be sitting there, next to Liam, after all this time.

Liam made Niall smile and it was like he belonged there with them, especially when Chloe would curl up against him, forgetting about her supposed dislike of him and leaning into him and letting him wrap an arm around her.

********

Gently shutting Chloe's bedroom door behind, Liam gave Niall a smile as he re-entered the living room after having put Chloe to bed, the seven-year-old having fallen asleep whilst brushing her teeth after trying to outlast her bed time. She hadn't put up a fight as Niall prised the toothbrush from her hand and helps her into her pyjama's and she'd simply yawned and clung to Liam as he carried her through to her bedroom.

Sharing a smile with Liam, Niall shifted over to make room for him as he sat down on the sofa, the two of them continuing with what had become their usual routine on the nights that Liam spent with Niall. They'd end up talking about anything and everything, ignoring whatever TV program or film they were ostensibly watching and gradually moving closer together so that Niall would end up at Liam's side while Liam wrapped an arm around him, holding him closer.

Pretending not to notice as Niall gradually moved closer and closer towards him, Liam couldn't help but smile and eventually laugh as he listened to the latest story Niall had ended up telling him about Chloe. "So...she actually went up on to the stage, took the halo from the boy playing Gabriel, walked him off stage whilst avoiding his puddle of pee before saying his lines for him?"

"Yep. I remember her coming home when they first got their roles in the play and she had been determined to be Gabriel. She'd been so put out when she wasn't chosen and, honestly, it could have been worse, really. She seemed like she was sort of saving the play when she did that. Though it was still mortifying, having to collect her at the end. Her teachers looked like they were abut to faint." Still smiling as he thought back over the debacle Chloe had caused at her Year One nativity play, Niall shook his head, closing his eyes and leaning back against the sofa for a moment before he added, "I think, somewhere, I probably have a DVD or something of it. The school used to send them out, recordings of each production. They don't do that anymore, though."