parenthood | niam au [ON HOLD]

date night

"daddy, do you think uncle zee will let us make cupcakes?" flynn asks liam, holding on to his hand as they walk to harry and zayn's doorstep.

"hmm...i'm not sure, ducky. maybe if you ask very nicely," liam answers, smoothing flynn's hair down.

"i'll be super, super nice, daddy. i'm always nice!"

"i know you are, sweet boy," liam chuckles, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

"who wants to ring the bell?" niall asks, coming up behind them with zinnia and teddy in tow. teddy jumps over all the cracks in the sidewalk, zinnia giggling at him as he does so.

"i wanna!" teddy shouts. "flynn got to last time, it's my turn!"

"alright, cub, go on," niall nods, and with a huge smile, teddy bounds forward and pushes the bell. 

"hey, kids! come on in," harry grins as he pulls the door open. lydia, perched on his hip, waves cutely at all of them. "have a good date night, guys."

"thank you so much for watching them," niall chirps, smiling at his best friend.

harry waves them away. "oh, don't mention it. just let me know when you guys are heading back to pick them up."

niall and liam leave hand-in-hand, niall smiling to himself. it feels like it's been so long since they've done this, since it's just been the two of them. and don't get him wrong, he adores his children, but he loves his husband, too, and it feels like he hasn't spent time with him in ages.

"where are we going?" niall asks.

"i don't really know," liam admits honestly, squeezing niall's much smaller, cold hand. "we could make out."

niall smacks liam's bicep. "liam, we're not spending the whole night making out!"

"does that mean we can spend part of the night making out?"

niall rolls his eyes.

- - -

"this might be the grossest thing we've ever done," niall laughs to liam. they've decided walk around downtown, something they loved to do when they were dating, but haven't had much of a chance to do so once they had their kids. after walking downtown for a while, they passed a pottery shop, and have decided to paint and fire matching mugs.

"you're definitely right," liam laughs in response, nodding. "okay, what should i paint on mine? what are you painting?"

"i'm painting captain america," niall admits, laughing.

"should i paint ironman?"

niall glares at him. "the disrespect!"

that makes liam laugh in response. "alright, alright, i'm gonna paint bucky on mine."

that makes niall beam widely. "much better. husbands painting superhero husbands on some mugs. this is so gay."

liam laughs even harder. "i mean, we're pretty gay, babe."

niall squints at him. "we're not that gay."

"niall, we're painting mugs in a pottery shop. that's gay."

niall stares at his husband with wide, overdramatic eyes. "oh, my god, liam. we're gay."

that makes liam laugh again, and niall can't help but join in. they paint, chatting idly as they do so. niall feels warm inside, full to the brim, and when they leave the shop an hour later, he can't stop smiling.

"what is it, angel? why are you smiling like that?" liam asks, a smile in his own voice.

"i just...i love you so much, liam. so, so much. it's almost...i don't know. it's not that i've forgotten how much i love you or anything like that, i guess it's just that i forget how much that gets intensified when you and i spend time together, just us. we need to do it more often."

"yeah, we do," liam agrees, pressing kisses against the back of niall's hand in his. "you know what else we should do more often?"

"make out?" niall guesses dryly.

liam turns to him with eyebrows raised. "you suggested it that time. you wanna make out? i'm down."

niall goes pink. "i wasn't suggesting it, you fart! i was just..." he goes quiet when he sees liam staring at him, gaze hungry. his pupils are blown wide open, and he's staring at niall as if he wants to devour him. "stop staring at me like that!" niall gasps, flustered.

"sorry," liam murmurs, and he really does try to stop, but something in him needs his husband, and badly.

"are you okay?" niall asks gently a few minutes later, breath warm against liam's ear.

liam shuts his eyes. "um, i kinda feel like if i'm not touching you in the next fifteen seconds, i'm going to spontaneously combust."

"you are such a horny shit."

"only for you," liam smirks in response, mischievous glint in his eye.

niall blushes. "shut up."

liam glances at his watch. "seven seconds, niall."

niall rolls his eyes, but pulls liam to the car. they spend a good fifteen minutes there, just kissing. there's something about it that's almost addicting, hands on skin, breath intermingling. liam's hands are so warm, it makes niall shiver whenever he touches him, and the sounds niall makes has liam never wanting to stop.

"i love you," liam whispers, pulling back. niall's eyes are shut, lips kiss-bitten and pink. when he opens his eyes, now his pupils are the ones blown wide, which makes liam smirk and nip at his bottom lip, making niall whine. "so much, niall. i love you so much i think it could kill me."

niall hugs him hard around the neck, nestles his cheek against liam's hickey-covered throat. "i love you, too. i feel like i'm never shutting up about it."

liam laughs. "i'd never want you to, my love. come on, let's go get our babies."

"do we have to?" niall whines. not that he doesn't want to see his kids, of course, but making out with liam in a parking lot is kinda...fun. it feels like something they would've done a long time ago, when they were young and stupid and drunk off love.

"come on, baby, let's go," liam says again. "before we end up making another baby in this target parking lot."

"liam!" niall gasps, smacking his arm, embarrassed, but liam just laughs. "i'd never have sex with you in a parking lot."

liam just raises an eyebrow. "challenge accepted."