silver diadem

day four (bridal shower)

Harry and Alex had to get everything ready for the venue and reception hall, leaving Liam, Niall, and Louis to do whatever they pleased.

"So," Niall placed his elbows onto the counter dramatically, "when's Zayn getting here?" He wiggles his eyebrows teasingly.

"Funny story actually.  Zayn isn't coming. Family emergency." Louis began shoveling his cereal into his mouth. 

Liam looked at him with a dumb look. Niall and Liam glanced at each other, rolled their eyes and immediately knew what happened.

"You spoke to Harry, he talked you out of it, blah blah blah."

"Hey! No, that's not what happened! I talked to Harry and told him about Zayn just being a piece to make me feel better then I decided Zayn should stay home because there's no rea-"

"So no family emergency then?" Liam smirked.

Louis grumbled, annoyed.

•••

After Louis left, Liam and Niall made the final decision to spend the day in.

"What do you want to do today, love?" Liam questioned.

"I don't know, daddy. You make decisions, not me," Niall slipped, giggling.

Liam smiled at him sweetly. "You're such a silly little boy," Liam hugged Niall close to his chest before picking him up, Niall wrapped completely around his body, and going upstairs.

As Liam was putting Cars into his DVD player, Niall whined, "Daddy." Liam immediately smiled, rushing to his boy.

Liam and Niall hadn't played in a long time. After they moved, adult life got in the way of their natural tendencies. Niall didn't act little and Liam was too busy to be a good caregiver and dominant. Punishing Niall took weeks of planning to make sure they would both be home long enough for proper aftercare. Liam being at the fire station and Niall always doing school work.

They'd just settled down. After the wedding things were too hectic to comprehend but now, things were normal.

"Please give me a child," Niall whispered, begging Liam. Liam groaned, feeling immediate anger pierce through him.

"Ni, we fight this battle consistently. Why can't you just let it go?"

"Because I want a kid, Liam! We discussed this before marriage, we discussed this on our honeymoon what has changed between now and then? I don't understand!" Niall shouted, shooting up from his laying position on the bed, clearly agitated.

Liam growled and had to take a minute to close his eyes and realize this was his Niall. He wouldn't yell at him for nothing. Clearly this was deathly important.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Niall continued, "is there something we need to talk about? Do you want a kid with me?" Niall sniffled lightly, bringing Liam's attention straight to him.

Liam couldn't. He couldn't have this conversation. Instead of being reasonable he suddenly became angry. "Niall, I am your dominant. You have no right to yell at me. I make the decisions, you just said so. I don't want a kid with you. Get it through your stubborn head. We're. Not. Having. A. Child." Liam sneered, grabbing Niall's arms quickly, flipping him over and ripping a down his shorts to reveal his bare bum.

Liam immediately began spanking Niall, Niall writhing underneath his hand. A mix of sobs and squeals erupted from Niall's lips, overwhelmed with pain and sadness.

Liam, only seeing red, continued laying hard hits down. Niall's arse was blood red, bruises beginning to form lightly.

"Red! Red! Red!" Niall sobbed continuously.

Liam didn't stop. "Red!" Niall yelled once more before becoming too tired, sobbing.

Harry had arrived home, hearing the reds made his blood boil, scared for a second it was Louis before realizing he had just pulled into the driveway. He rushed up the stairs, slamming open Liam's bed room door.

"Liam!" He growled out. The voice of another dominant made Liam snap out of it.

Harry immediately slammed his friend against the wall harshly. Louis, trailing behind, went to Niall slowly. The blonde was still sobbing loudly.

"Come on, Ni. We'll get you in a nice ice bath, 'm so sorry," Louis pleaded.

Niall stood with another sob, pain piercing through his back and legs.

After Louis got Niall out of the room, Harry began. "I have no idea how long your husband was calling red but the second you heard the R come from his lips, you should've been out of that room," Harry punched Liam hard enough to make him wince. "You little son of a bitch, that man loves you. He's a sub for you and no one else." Harry punched him again. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him like that again. That's not my submissive but I'm a dominant too, and never does a little or a sub deserve that. I don't care what he was being punished for." Harry slammed him again the wall once more before dropping him to the floor.

Louis set Niall down lightly, warning him of the cold water. To avoid sitting on the hard tub, Niall flipped to his stomach, laying down completely in the water using his arms to keep his head above.

Harry entered, keeping his eyes on Louis instead of Niall until he could see Niall's face. His eyes were red, cheeks blotchy.

"Ni, I'm so sorry we weren't home sooner," Harry apologized quietly. Niall shook his head, too tired to speak but both boys understood.

"Niall, I know you don't want to talk about it right now but what happened? We need to know to make sure you're safe," Louis' tone was motherly, soft, gentle. It made Harry's heart race.

It took Niall a few minutes. "I asked if we could have a baby. Adopt one. We've talked about it for a long time. A couple of months ago, Liam suddenly started saying he didn't want kids. At all. I've been asking, hoping that if he sees how much I want a child, he'd let us have one. We also haven't had much time to play. Work and things have gotten in the way. I shouldn't have asked, I should've just let it g-"

"No. You're his husband. Don't you dare blame this on yourself," Harry began to get a bit harsh, causing Niall to whimper. Louis, from his place on the toilet seat, grabbed Harry's hand and gripped tightly, trying to remind him this was so fresh.

"Do you feel abused, Niall?" Harry questioned seriously.

"No. I think we just need to talk, figure this out."

Harry took a step closer to Louis, wrapping his arms tightly around the boys shoulders, slightly awkward because of their differing positions but both were too stuck to care.

"I just want a baby," Niall cried.

Louis and Harry sighed, stuck, not knowing what to do or how to help.

"I think we're going to go downstairs, Ni. When you're done just take some clothes from my room and meet us down, okay?"

Niall nodded and turned his head towards the wall, dismissing Louis and Harry.

Instead of going downstairs, both went straight to Liam's room.

"What the fuck did I just come home to?" Louis interrogated.

"I'm so sorry," Liam cried. His eye was already starting to bruise from Harry's hits.

"As a submissive and as a little, I am disgusted in you as a dominant," Louis said, disappointed. "What if mom was home instead of me and Harry? Would you have hit her if she wasn't strong enough to make you stop? Do you know how scary that was for me and Harry? What about YOUR HUSBAND, LIAM!?"

"I can't be like dad, Louis!" Liam shouted. "I can't have a child with Niall, and end up being like dad. I'm so scared that's how I'll be! That's why I changed my mind."

Louis understood, being that he had the same fears, however, he still kept the front up. "Not good enough. Talk to Niall. Fix this."