Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Niall

He arrived home, back at Liam's, to a scene of absolute chaos.

There was the usual chaos, that made him feel like going back there was like going home, including Chloe's stuff littering the hallway, shoes piled like a death trap by the door, school bags and reading books piled together, coats not hung up where they should be but dropped near enough by, and the TV blaring, but additional chaos overpowered the usual sort.

The TV was blaring, but instead of CBBC or Disney Channel, whatever it was Chloe liked to watch on Sky, her favourite Disney film was playing. Paintings, fresh paintings hung up slightly too soon so that the colours smudged, were stuck to the walls, and an acrid burning smell hung in the air, cloying and filling Niall with a sense of dread, the kind he only ever got when Liam tried to cook or Chloe was in charge of baking.

Softening all of that, though, was the sound of Chloe's laughter, cutting through the noise from the TV and the sound of the oven's alarm, making Liam's flat seem warmer, and the mess seem irrelevant. It was joined by the sound of Liam's own laughter, and the soft pattering of Loki's paws on the hardwood floor. One quick peek into Chloe's bedroom, where her school clothes were abandoned all over the floor, and her growing collection of toys had been brought out, told him all that he needed to know about Liam's and Chloe's activities after he'd brought her home.

It seemed like they were fitting months worth of fun and playing into one afternoon and when he finally made his way through to the kitchen, he was proven right. Once again, Chloe had paint in her hair, one side of Liam's face was coloured green, and footprints, paw prints, and handprints of varying colours covered most surfaces, including the floor, fridge and cupboard doors, table, chairs and a few pieces of paper. Sheets of cookies, some of which were almost unrecognisable as cookies, and were really more like burnt pieces of charcoal, covered the worktop, and Chloe was sat on the worktop, instructing Liam as they prepared to make another batch.

Chloe jumped down when she saw Niall, ignoring Liam's warning and hugging him, covering the front of his shirt with paint and cookie dough as she did so, before she took his hand and pulled him closer to see the latest batch of cookies they were making, allegedly oatmeal and raisin but closer resembling porridge in reality. Both she and Liam were smiling regardless, so Niall hugged her back, helping her so she was sat back on the worktop before he wrapped an arm around Liam's waist, resting his head on his shoulder and gently suggesting ways to make the cookies actually resemble cookies.

Niall ended up taking over, scrapping the existing batch of dough and starting over, letting Chloe eat handfuls of the original mix as he worked, slapping Liam's hand away as he tried to join Chloe. Chloe giggled at the look of mock-outrage on Liam's face, holding the bowl of abandoned dough close to her chest as Liam complained. "Oh, come on. Chloe gets to eat it."

"Chloe's adorable, Li." Niall shot Chloe a conspiratorial grin, turning back to the new batch of dough, doing his best not to laugh as Liam wedged himself in between Niall and the counter, asking, "And I'm not?"

"You want the honest answer or not?" Niall raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Liam, shaking his head as he realised that Liam was actually considering his response. "Not. Lie to me. Tell me I'm the most wonderful person in the whole universe."

Chloe set the bowl back on the worktop, swinging her legs a little and pushing her hair out of her face as she interrupted. "That would be lying, though. And Daddy says that's wrong."

"It's not always lying if you mean it, Chlo." Niall turned around so he was facing Liam, giving him a smile and reaching up, pressing a kiss to his jaw and grinning a little as Liam pulled him in for a kiss, neither of them really noticing as Chloe wrinkled her nose, jumping down and leaving them be. The two of them only separated when Niall reached out, seeking a place to hold on to as Liam began to work his way down Niall's neck, knocking the bowl of cookie dough into the sink, the crash it made registering enough for them to pull apart, rescuing the bowl before sharing a look and laughing.