Coalesce

ONE

The scenery passes by the car windows slowly as they move inch by inch with the rest of the traffic. It's different to what Niall's used to; he's lived in the middle of the city his entire life, in a small apartment with a view of an old alley and the stench of oil from the metalworks place across the busy street keeping his bedroom window tightly shut even in the summer months. It's been his home though. Their home; his place with his Dad and, up until three years ago, his Mum too.

Then the gas leak had happened and their whole building and the two neighbouring apartment blocks had been evacuated in the middle of the night with no warning; they'd packed a bag each and been told to leave, staying in a hostel for a couple of nights before his Dad's boyfriend had all but insisted that they come and stay with them until the damage is fixed at least.

The distance from their apartment to Zayn's house isn't too far, but it's on the better side of the city, surrounded by more greenery than Niall sees most days on his way to and from school, on a stretch of lane dotted with rich houses and wealthy occupants; all modern architecture, white walls and glass windows that stretch from floor to ceiling, balconies and gardens that go on for miles.

His fingers twist tighter around the strap of his backpack sitting on the floor between his feet in the passenger seat, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

His Dad glances across at him as he drives, the blue eyes that they share skimming over his face gently for a while before he smiles softly, taking one hand off the worn gear stick between them to wrap around Niall's arm just below his elbow, thumb brushing back and forth over the scarred skin hidden beneath his long sleeves.

"You sure you're okay with this, Bug? Because if you're not, I'll turn around right now and find us someplace else to stay," he says, and Niall looks at the man with a grin, letting out a small huff of laughter.

"Dad, you've said that a billion times already. I'm good with this. Zayn's nice," he says with a shrug, and it's the truth.

He'd rather be staying at his father's boyfriend's house than at some cheap hostel sharing a room with twelve other guys, sharing a bunk with his Dad. And Zayn is nice — he and his Dad have been dating for nearly a year now, since last autumn and now it's almost September again, and Zayn has been nothing but good to both of them. He works an important job writing songs for some pretty famous singers, and he's got a lot of money behind him, but he isn't in the least bit snobby. He makes time for his own kids as well as Niall, and he makes his Dad happy, most importantly.

Dad stares at him before glancing back to the road, pressing his lips together. "And what about his boys? You're not used to having other kids around constantly, you don't have to be okay with this. You can just say —"

"Dad," he strains, laughing. "Stop worrying. I really am okay with this. And Harry's sweet, he always draws pictures and stuff for me every time we're over there."

"And Liam? You're okay with him?" The man presses, looking at him again with furrowed brows.

Niall nods once. "Yeah. He's — he's cool. I mean, he's older than me so we don't really see each other much at school but...he's never been mean or anything," he says honestly. He untangles the fingers of his other hand from his bag and rests his hand on top of his father's in reassurance. "I promise, Dad. I'm good with this. I'm happy if you are," he says with a smile, their usual line bringing relief over the man's face.

He lets out a sigh and smiles. "Yeah? Well I'm happy if you are, so I guess we're both good," he replies. Then he pauses. "I know it's hard, leaving home behind like this. It's where your Mum was...I don't want you to feel like we're leaving her behind too, because this is only temporary until they fix the gas leak, okay?" He murmurs.