I Love You

Harry watched as Niall lay sleepily in the hospital bed, their hands intwined as silent tears fell down Harry's cheeks and to his pink lips, only to leave a lingering salty taste.

Harry promised he wouldn't let Niall see him cry, so he usually waited until the elder boy had fallen asleep. Which was a lot of the time now.

Niall's hospital bills were adding up. They tried chemo, but it didn't work. They tried everything they could try, but nothing seemed to help. That was when the doctors found a tumor had formed on Niall's brainstem. Needless to say, Niall wouldn't be living long. It was too risky to even attempt the surgery and Harry didn't want to lose Niall that way.

Niall understood that he wouldn't live through this. That he would have to leave Harry, his family, and their friends behind. The fans were upset as well, even though One Direction had been split up for almost eight years.

Both boys thought they had more time. That's why they hadn't adopted a child or gotten married. They just wanted to be happy and have fun together, but that got cut short.

Harry and Niall still kept in touch with the other boys. Zayn had gotten married to Perrie, but they divorced only a year later. After that, no one really heard from him much. Louis and Eleanor moved to Doncaster and had gotten married only a few years after the split. Liam, however, was taking care of his father. He had gotten too old and too sick to take care of himself. Liam was happy to be there for him.

Harry perked up slightly when he heard Niall groan in discomfort, Harry's free hand going up to wipe his cheeks dry before he laid his hand back over both of their. "Niall, darling, go back to sleep. You won't have to be in pain if you sleep," Harry said softly, his hand moving to Niall's cheek.

Niall only shook his head, forcing his eyes open to look at Harry. "No. If I sleep, I can't see you," he argued in a hoarse whisper, bringing his shaky hand to Harry's cheek. Harry frowned and moved his hand back to the bed.

Harry was upset that Niall wouldn't listen to him. Yes, it was hard for Niall to not be able to see Harry, but it was even harder for Harry to see Niall in pain. That's not how he wanted to see him.

"I'll get the doctor to give you something for the pain then, okay?" Harry said and stood up, walking out of the room before Niall could even respond. He walked over to the nurses desk, clearing his throat. "I need Doctor Roth to give Niall something for the pain," he told her and she informed him that the doctor would be there soon to do so.

Harry walked to the door and looked at Niall, sighing softly. "The nurse said the doctor will be in shortly. I'm going to go get a water from the cafeteria. I'll be back in a couple minutes," Harry told Niall, who nodded in response.

Niall put his hand out, giving Harry a half-hearted smile. "Can I have a kiss?" He asked the curly headed lad, who chuckled weakly and nodded as he walked over.

The tall boy sat on the edge of the bed, the cushion dipping in from his weight before he leaned down. He stopped when the tips of their noses touched, fixing the beanie that held Niall's head in a warm embrace before he pressed their lips together.

Harry moved his lips with Niall's slowly and in perfect sync, his hand gently cupping Niall's pale cheek. He was being as careful as he could, not wanting to hurt the one person he loved. He never wanted to do that.

Harry pulled away after a few moments of kissing, getting to his feet with a weak smile. "I love you, Niall." He whispered, giving Niall's hand a gentle squeeze.

Niall smiled back at him, flashing his teeth as he gave Harry a nod and a squeeze of the hand back. "I love you too, Harry." He replied.

Harry nodded, sighing softly. "I'll be right back. I love you." He repeated, not wanting Niall to forget it.

After several 'I love yous', Harry finally left the room and went down to the cafeteria. He got a pudding cup, apple sauce, green jello, and a cookie for Niall and him to snack on. Then he bought a water and an iced tea. He knew Niall was probably hungry.

Harry then headed back up to Niall's room, his heart beating faster when he saw nurses and doctors rushing into his lovers room. "No.." Harry breathed to himself, his eyes welling with tears as he ran to the room with the doctors. He stood in the doorway and tried to look past all the people, a rapid beeping filling the room.

Suddenly, the rapid beeping became one steady and long beep until a nurse shut off the heart monitor.

Harry's heart dropped as the things he was holding fell from his fingers, tears falling down his cheeks. "Niall?" He whimpered, the doctors and nurses turning their heads to look at him before they stepped out of the way to reveal his boyfriend.

The boys chest wasn't rising and falling with breaths. His eyes were shut. His face already even more pale than it already was as his body laid limp against the bed. Niall was gone. His suffering was finally over, but Harry's had just started. "Niall." Harry said quietly as he walked past the doctors to the bed.

Harry took Niall's hand, shaking his head frantically as he gripped Niall's shoulders and began shaking him. "Niall! Wake up!" He shouted as tears rolled down his cheeks quickly. "Niall, please!" He screamed and collapsed on top of him, his body shaking. "You can't leave me." He whispered.

After a while, Harry got up and got in the doctors face, his hands clenching into fists. "Why didn't you do anything!? This is all your fault!" He shouted as he jabbed a finger into the doctors chest. "This is your fucking fault!"

Two doctors grabbed Harry's arms and pulled him back, holding him as he struggled around before he dropped to the floor in heavy sobs.

Harry gripped his hair and let out a scream, shaking his head frantically.

He was thankful that the last words they said to each other were 'I love you'.