5+1 - l.s

chapter one: Liam

(A/N:      Hey guys, I'm really glad to start writing again for you! This is generally supposed to be a short fic but its about 8k per chapter and it is one of my favourites! Thanks so much for taking the time to read. V.)

The first time Liam sees it, he has to do a double-take.

It's at a barbecue he and Zayn have thrown for everyone. Okay, more a housewarming party the two men have decided to host after finally getting to move into their dream house together. They both want to set it off with a big bang, so they've invited everyone they can think of. For Zayn, it's friends and coworkers, and for Liam, it's not much different, save for Louis. Liam works in processing at the police station the next town over, and Louis has brought people into the station before, so he also sort of considers him a coworker.

Louis' a widower, and Liam's the type of person who would rather have a few best friends than a whole army of acquaintances, so all those years ago, when Ryan had passed away, he had had all the time in the world to spend helping Louis cope with his loss. It had started out with how Louis had come in looking particularly downtrodden compared to the last time Liam had seen him, and after he had voiced this fact, the rest was history. He had learned in the process that Louis had a huge support system of people who cared deeply for him, and eventually, his friends had become Liam's.

Hence, the massive list of people he's invited, piled atop Zayn's list, and that doesn't even cover the people who have brought along extras. Louis' got the teenage Kieran and two-year-old Mia, and another guy Liam only knows to be the high school's baseball coach by what Zayn had told him when he and Louis and the kids had initially shown up. From what Liam's heard, the dude's a real pill to be around, but at a distance, he doesn't seem too bad. Mia sure seems to like him, as it's his hand she clutches as they walk around the yard, and his arms she all-but jumps into when Paul greets her. Liam has to laugh, because Paul's actually a really big softie, but Mia apparently has yet to learn that. Either way, Louis seems to pay Mia's behavior toward the coach no mind, so he assumes the guy's been around a lot.

Among the other guests are Lottie, Morgan, Niall, Rose, Sophia, Jesy, Mike, Jeffrey, Alice, and more people than Liam can list off the top of his head right now. He can, however, take pride in the fact that their yard is plenty big enough to support the group of people she and Zayn have invited, plus all their plus-ones and plus-twos and plus-twelves. Adults and children and dogs alike are running about the yard, picking food off of long outdoor tables with blue and white plaid table covers. Sophie grabs two sodas and tosses one to Kieran and the two of them disappear off toward the handful of trees closer to the house.

This is why Liam has decided against moving to the city. Sure, it's closer to his job, and the commute from there to here is easier for Zayn than the trip from here to there is for Liam, but they have both had their eyes on this house since before they'd gotten together. Zayn is a therapist, though in small-town Nottingham, he makes a little less than he would in the big city. But there's something about still having to save for the big place that's exciting. Liam made a point to contribute as much as he could, even though his salary is far lower than his boyfriend's, and now that they've finally got it, they couldn't be happier.

It kind of looks like one of the houses that would appear in scary movies or shows about the paranormal. A huge yard with a long-ish driveway that leads to a fancy porch with its own roof. Two big double-doors open into a massively old, super creaky home and inside are more bedrooms than Zayn and Liam will ever actually need. But that's part of the appeal to them. The squeaky stairs and drafty rooms promise work to be done, and neither of them will deny that they like the somewhat spooky aspect too. Not to mention the different designs they can gradually come up with for each bedroom. So far, it's been a fucking blast.