Clarity « Niam

Chapter 5

"Wave bye-bye to nana, Aybrum." Niall murmured as he pointed to the iPhone screen, waving some to get the toddler to copy his actions. They'd been on the phone with Niall's mum, Maura all morning, planning their upcoming two week trip back to Ireland.

Aybrum gave the phone a big kiss, smiling goofily as he waved and babbled his goodbyes.

"Tell nana we'll see her next month, bye nana." Niall smiled, waving along with the toddler as his mum said her goodbyes and ended their FaceTime.

Aybrum slipped down off the couch, going to play with the numerous toys that he had scattered around the living room floor - the room was spotless this morning but after twenty minutes, a toy tornado blew through.

Niall was going to pick up the toys that Aybrum wasn't playing with, but someone was buzzing at the door and he knew it was Liam seeing as he needed to leave for work within the next fifteen minutes to be on time.

"I wasn't sure how early or late you wanted me to come." Liam smiled when Niall opened the door, awkwardly stepping into the small flat and closed the door behind himself.

Niall pushed a hand through his hair before he bent down to slip on his shoes, "It's alright, you're fine. I wanted to stop and get a coffee or something anyways."

He nodded, unsure of what else he was supposed to say. "So - um, is he here?"

"Obviously, why would I say you could watch him and not have him here?" He laughed, slipping his foot into his other shoe. "He's playing in the living room down the hall, you can go see him. He knows someone different is going to stay with him today and he's excited, I told him I'll bring him home a sweet if he's good for you."

Liam pulled his hands out of his pockets, rubbing them together and looked down the seemingly looming hallway. Because this was it, he was finally going to see his son and he'd be able to touch him - he wasn't just a picture anymore.

"Shouldn't I wait for you? I mean, I don't want to scare him or something." Clearly Liam was a lot more nervous than either of them expected him to be, because he wanted this, he just didn't want to mess up within the first two seconds.

Niall stood up straight, instinctively pushing a hand through his nearly half dyed blonde hair. "Sure, but I doubt he'll be scared. He talks to everyone and anything, despite the countless times I've told him not to talk to strangers."

He followed Niall down the hall, feeling more nervous than when he audition for The X Factor. Because getting Aybrum to like him, seemed more important than just about anything he's ever anticipated in life. Mostly because Aybrum wasn't just another person he wanted to impress, he was his biological son and that alone meant something.

"Wait." He panicked, grabbing Niall's forearm before he walked into what he assumed was the living room and pulled him back to face him. "Does he have any allergies, general dislikes, food preferences or something - anything I should know?"

Niall smiled, letting himself see the Liam he loved and still loves, when he saw the worrisome expression etched on his face. "No allergies, he rarely eats anything that isn't pancakes, pasta with chicken or strawberries. You can call him Abe, but not peanut because that's what I call him and he'll get upset. When he gets whiny, give him the stuffed giraffe in his crib and he's fine - otherwise, he's fairly relaxed for a one year old."

He nodded, making a mental note of everything. "Right, got it."

"You going to be alright or should I just take him to his regular sitter?" Niall questioned, trying to hide his smile because Liam looked pale as a ghost at this point.

"No, I'm just - I'm fine, I can do this. He's one, how difficult could he be." He assured, but mostly he was just assuring himself that he could do this without too many bumps. Hopefully.

Niall only laughed, heading into the living room and scooped up the toddler. "Peanut, this is Liam. He's going to be watching you today, yeah."

Aybrum waved, smiling cutely at him.

Liam nervously looked at Niall, "Doesn't he talk?"

"Not really, he babbles a lot but his pediatrician said it's normal. He can only say "no" and "bubba", properly. Otherwise he gets bits of actual words and he'll babble away to you, but he knows what you're saying most of the time." He explained, giving Aybrum kisses and hugs. Because even though it's routine, he hates parting with him.

"Oh, right - that makes sense." Liam smiled when Aybrum leaned towards him in Niall's arms, wanting to be held by him. "Am I - can I hold him or?"

Niall gave Aybrum one last kiss on the cheek and handed him over, "You're allowed to touch him, he's not porcelain and he wants you to hold him anyways."

Liam's smile grew once Aybrum was in his arms, "Hi, little man."

Aybrum giggled, reaching out to feel around Liam's unshaven face and giggled when the unfamiliar texture tickled his finger tips.

"Can you say hi to Liam, Aybrum. Say, hi Liam." Niall prompted after a couple more seconds of listening to Aybrum's laughter.

Aybrum made little sounds with his mouth, forming the shapes of words with his lips before he actually tried to say what his daddy suggested. "Li."

"Good job, peanut." Niall praised, leaning up to give him a little kiss on the cheek and tickled his side. He glanced at Liam, seeing his eyes were glossed over and he had a doe-eyed look on his face as he smiled, listening to Aybrum repeat the shortened version of his name over and over. "Are you crying?"

Liam's smile broke when he realized how much his emotions had got to him and how unknowingly important this moment was to him, and sniffled some. "Yeah, no. I've got dry eyes or something, I'm fine."

Niall put a hand on Liam's arm, giving it a small reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to lie, you still make that wounded puppy face when you get emotional." He paused when Aybrum started babbling away at Liam. "Just have fun today, yeah. I'll be back before six."

Liam nodded, more engrossed in listening to Aybrum's nonsense and let the smile return to his lips when the toddler started exploring his unshaven face again.
_________________________________

(authors note: I hope Liam and Aybrum's meeting was up to everyone's expectations, I normally make their child more shy but I wanted Aybrum to be more outgoing and confident around people.

But what do you think all this means for Niam, as far as possibly starting a relationship again? Or do you think Niall's going to play it safe and keep a good distance when it comes to that aspect of their lives.

Comment, comment, comment!!!)