The Decision That Changed My Life

The First Night

Niall's POV

After getting Liam and Louis cleaned up I take all three of them to the kitchen and begin making macaroni and cheese.
"Are you thirsty?" I ask my boys, who are sitting at the kitchen table watching me move around the room. Liam shakes his head with a smile and Louis raises his hand slightly.
"C-could I have some water?" he asks shyly and I smile at him before going to the fridge.
"Would you like some water too Harry?" I ask while I open the fridge.
"Yes please" I hear him mumble and I grab two bottles of water and a can of Pepsi from my drink drawer. I close the fridge and hand the waters to my boys before sitting in the empty chair in between them and across from Liam. Out of the corner of my eye I see Louis stroking the white material of his collar and I smile.
"I'm glad you like it Louis, I tried picking out colors I thought you'd like" I say with a smile, looking at my boys.
"It's beautiful, thank you so much" he says bashfully and I can't help smiling as I reach out and gently ruffle his hair.
"You're very much welcome" I say before standing up to check on the now boiling water.
"I hope you boys are hungry" I say as I dump the noodles into the pot and begin stirring. Just then I hear someone's stomach growl loudly and turn to see Harry blushing in his seat.
"I'll take that as a yes" I chuckle and Harry gives me a small smile. After a few minutes the macaroni is ready and I drain the water out of it before adding the cheese,milk and butter. After a moment of stirring I scoop some into four bowls.
"Here you go loves" I say sweetly as I place a bowl in front of Harry and Louis. They both blush and I laugh slightly before giving them a quick kiss on the forehead and going to get mine and Liam's dinner. When I'm coming back with our food I see Liam looking down at the table with a sad expression on his face. Without a word I place my bowl down in front of my seat before walking around the table so I'm standing behind him. I place his bowl in front of him and he looks up slightly. I lean in and kiss his cheek as he begins turning his head to look at me. His face brightens up and he looks up at me like he just found a golden ticket in a candy bar.
"Here you are sweetie" I whisper in his ear gently before rubbing my face against his. He nuzzles his nose against my jaw and out of the corner of my eye I see Louis and Harry smiling at us.
"I'm so glad I decided to go to that shelter today" I say with a smile before giving Liam one last kiss on the forehead before walking back to my seat and sitting down.
"Because now I'm the luckiest man in the world" I finish with a big grin, looking at all three of my boys.
"I think we're the lucky ones" Louis says sweetly and Harry and Liam let out sounds of agreement.
"We have the most amazing owner and a roof over our heads" Liam says gratefully and I feel my heart clench at the reminder that I'm their master.
"Legally I may own you, but I still respect your say. If you guys have any problems with how we're living then I want you guys to tell me okay" I say seriously and they all nod.
"And another thing, yes I'm your owner but I'd very much like to have the chance to be your friend. And in time I promise I'll earn that privilege" I say and suddenly I feel another hand in my right one. I look down and see Harry's hand in mine.
"You already are earning that privilege Niall" he says sweetly and I look up to smile at him. I squeeze his hand gently and suddenly Louis' stomach growls loudly.
"Alright enough talk, let's eat" I laugh as I release Harry's hand and pick up my fork in it's place. For the rest of the meal we exchange friendly chat and laugh at each others silly little comments.

"Night lads" I say as I look at them from the doorway of their room.
"Night Niall" they all mumble tiredly as they crawl into their beds and I smile softly.
"Niall?" I hear Louis say quietly as I begin moving to turn off the light switch.
"Yeah?" I say as I walk over to his bed, which is the one all the way on the left side of the room.
"Thank you for saving us, I was so scared we were going to die" he says as I sit on the side of his bed, and he looks up at me sleepily.
"Shhh, don't think about that anymore sweetie. You're safe now" I say soothingly, reaching out to run my fingers through his hair.
"This has been the best day ever" he says with a silly grin on his face and I smile back.
"It's the first of many to come, I promise I will make you guys happy for the rest of our lives" I say before leaning down and kissing his forehead. Something about these three makes me want to be gentle and loving, something I haven't had the chance to do in a long time. My whole family lives in Ireland and I got my house in London shortly after I turned eighteen.
"I love you Niall" he says before yawning and my eyes widen slightly in surprise. I smile and stroke his cheek gently as he falls asleep before getting up and turning off the bedroom light. I go into my room and curl up with one of my pillows in the middle of my giant bed. One of the things that sucks about living alone in this huge empty house is the loneliness. Before the boys I had no one to share this with, and now I have my own little family to take care of and they mean the world to me already even though it's been less than a day. I close my eyes and after a few minutes I drift off into a peaceful sleep.