Out in the Cold (Zianourry) ON HOLD

Nine

"Alright, guys, I'm heading out now. Please behave." Liam speaks from the doorway, shifting on his feet, his hand grasping the doorknob. He's headed off to do something for work, though he's dressed fairly comfortable. Then again, Harry doesn't know what his job is yet. 

"We'll be fine, Lima Bean. Now go." Niall waves away Liam's concerns.

Liam's brown eyes turn to Harry, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. "I can stay if-"

Harry cuts him off with a light chuckle. "It's alright, Liam. Go before you're late." He's smiling, the indents in his cheeks visible. Harry's started smiling a lot more recently, all of the boy's are very happy about that.

"Fine. Hug?" He then proceeds to go full puppy dog eyes on the curly haired boy, opening his arms as wide as they'll go. Harry's also been allowing touching more.

Harry doesn't even hesitate, walking forward to wrap his arms around Liam's torso. Liam's arms wound themselves around Harry's neck, squeezing the boy to him. The hug lasts maybe 10 seconds, and then they're pulling away, Harry shooing Liam out the door.

Once the door is shut behind him, Harry turns around to face the other three; Niall sprawled out on the couch, Louis stretched out in the recliner, and Zayn half asleep on the floor, a pillow under his head and a cover thrown over his body.

"Come cuddle me." Zayn groans out, lifting an arm up to wave the boy over to him. Harry complies, sliding under the blanket next to him. Zayn's arm wraps around his body, pulling him against him.

"No fair, I wanna join." Niall whines, scurrying off of the couch and crowding in on the other side of Harry, sandwiching him between their two bodies. His pale hand grips the blanket and yanks, jerking it off of Zayn's body.

Zayn grumbles, grabbing it and pulling the cover back. "Niall, the blanket isn't big enough. Go away."

"Fine," Niall retorts, standing up from the floor, only to bend over and pick Harry up. A squeal tumbles from the boy's mouth, and Zayn glares up at the blond.

"Excuse you, what the hell are you doing? Put him back, I had him first."

"Well, I have him now."

"Niall-"

"Boys, boys. Settle down or neither one of you gets Harry." Louis steps in then, placing a hand on Niall's shoulder. The two ignore him, continuing to fight. As Zayn stands up from the floor, Louis squints his eyes at Harry, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes at the other two, pulling a giggle from the boy. Without Niall even noticing, Louis pulls Harry from his arms and carries him over to the recliner.

"How long do you think it will take for them to notice I stole you?" Louis fake whispers, grinning widely.

"No telling." Harry replies, laying his head on Louis' shoulder and watching the argument. Which lasts maybe another minute or so before Zayn's pulling Niall into a heated kiss. Harry's eyes widen and he glances away awkwardly, while Louis clears his throat loudly.

"Guys, seriously? Chill out, or get a room." He orders, reaching over to cover Harry's eyes and teasingly adding, "We've got a child here."

Niall and Zayn pull away from each other, Zayn blushing and Niall giggling, but Harry stands up from the chair, awkwardly saying, "I'm just gonna, uh, get some water." He shuffles out of the room and enters the kitchen.

Harry grabs a glass from the cabinet, filling it up with water and downing half of it in one go. A hand clamps down on his shoulder, causing him to jump and nearly spill some. He turns around to face Zayn, who rushes to apologize. "I'm sorry, Haz, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine." Harry waves it off, setting his glass on the bar and turning around to face the man.

"Sorry about... in there... with Niall." Zayn awkwardly shifts on his feet, lightly scratching his wrist as he talks, his eyes flitting to the floor.

"No need to apologize," Harry shrugs. "It's none of my business."

"You live in this house, it's your business too, babe." Zayn answers, grabbing Harry's hips and pulling him against him. "So I'm sure you've noticed some things going on. The whole kissing each other thing."

So they know about it? What are they like, friends with benefits or something? The questions must show on his face because Zayn laughs lightly, nodding his head. "So you have noticed."

"A little, yeah." Harry admits, feeling his cheeks heat up a little at the way Zayn's watching him. "But like I said, it's none of my business."

"And like I said, it is. As I was saying, you've noticed all that. Well, and I'm actually surprised you haven't brought it up yet, we're all kind of in this... polyamory relationship. Meaning we're all together." Zayn explains. Behind the pair, Niall and Louis quietly enter the kitchen, waiting patiently for Harry's response.

Harry feels his eyes widen, but he supposes that makes a lot of sense. "Oh." He simply nods.

"Oh?" Niall asks, causing Harry to jump once more, turning his head to glance at the two. Louis' arm is wrapped around Niall's shoulder, and the blond has his arms crossed.

"Yeah, oh." Harry shrugs, smiling softly. "What else am I expected to say?"

"Fair point," Zayn agrees, leaning his forehead against the side of Harry's head.

Harry hesitates, his gaze shifting between the three men in the room with him. He bites his lip though, choosing not to voice his thoughts. Louis notices though, chuckles. "Spit it out, love."

"Should I like, stop touching you guys so much? Like all the hugging and cuddling and stuff. I don't want to, uh, overstep." Harry speaks nervously.

Niall's the first one to answer. "If you stop hugging me and cuddling me I personally will punch you in your throat."

Louis nods in agreement, pointing towards Niall. "What he said."

"I just don't want to-"

Zayn cuts in then, his hands beginning to rub circles around Harry's hip bones. As he speaks, Niall and Louis walk over, joining them in the hug, both making sure to touch some part of Harry. "Nothing's changed, H."

Next to his ear, Niall murmurs something that sounds distinctively like 'yet'.

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