Bedtime Stories ♡ Ziall/Larry/Lirry AU [COMPLETE]

[10]

We hit double digits! Woohoo! Thank you!

~ ~ ~
"Where are we going?" Niall whined as he got in the backseat next to Zayn.

"We're going to Noodles," Harry smiled, buckling Niall in. Niall whined that he could do it himself, and stubbornly unbuckled and then re-buckled himself in.

"I don't wanna," Niall whined, and Harry turned around, frowning at him.

"Niall, I'm not in the mood. If you don't want Noodles, you don't have to eat anything, but we're going."

"I like Noodles," Zayn chirped, and Niall relaxed. Whatever Zayn liked, Niall would make himself like, so if Zayn wanted to go to Noodles, so did Niall.

"Okay," Niall sighed, mood lightening, and Harry sighed in relief.

"Why are we going to Noodles, Daddy?" Zayn questioned. They didn't eat out much because Harry preferred to cook at home, so anytime they went anywhere, it was a treat.

"Well," Harry said as he backed out of their driveway, "I have a..." What was Liam? How should he describe him? And - fuck - was this a date? "I have a friend named Liam," Harry decided, "and he wants to meet you two."

"He wants to meet me?" Niall gasped.

"And me," Zayn pouted.

"Yeah. So he's going to meet us at Noodles. Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds good," Niall nodded, and Zayn nodded, too.

~ ~ ~
Soon after, they arrived at the Noodles and Company, and Harry's palms were sweating. He was nervous. He hadn't been this nervous in...in, well, years, and that was so strange.

"Come on, boys," Harry said, getting out of the car after a good two minutes of panicking.

"Noodles!" Niall cheered, galloping up to take Harry's hand, and Zayn giggled, following.

"Daddy, piggy back, please?" Zayn asked, sticking his lower lip out in that way that he knew would make Harry give in. He rolled his eyes, but lowered to his knees so that Zayn could climb onto his back. Zayn squealed cheerfully as Harry stood up, and they made their way into the restaurant.

Harry scanned the restaurant for Liam, and his heart sunk to his stomach when he didn't spot him. Then a voice called, "Harry!" and he turned, smiling, relieved. Liam was walking towards them, a smile on his lovely face. "Hi," he said, kind of shyly, and before Harry could stop himself, he hugged Liam.

"Hi," Harry said back, now the shy one. Liam was beaming at him, though, eyes affectionate, and Harry's stomach was twisting up into knots. "This is Niall," Harry said, so that he wouldn't do something stupid like kiss him.

"Hello!" Niall grinned, waving up at Liam excitedly.

Liam chuckled, and knelt so that he was at an equal height with Niall. "Well, hello there, Niall," he smiled. "It's very, very nice to meet you."

"I like you," Niall giggled.

Liam chuckled and ruffled Niall's hair affectionately. Niall hated having his hair ruffled, and Harry held his breath, but Niall just continued beaming up at Liam, not even caring.

"And you," Liam smiled, eyes kind, "You must be Zayn."

Zayn hid his face in Harry's shoulder, but he eyed Liam curiously, a tiny smile on his lips.

"That's okay," Liam said gently. "You can be shy. You can talk to me if you want, but if you don't want to, that's okay, too. Okay?"

Zayn nodded, tiny smile growing a little.

"How're you, Harry?" Liam asked finally, once they were standing in line. Niall was playing with Liam's fingers, and Zayn was leaning his head against Harry's shoulder, eyeing him.

"I'm..." Harry felt shy, but he wanted Liam to know. "I'm really, really happy I'm here with you right now."

Liam smiled. "Don't say things like that."

Harry frowned. "Why not?"

"Because it makes me want to kiss you," Liam explained, eyes blazing into Harry. Harry felt so warm all over. "And I don't know if that's what you're here for. So."

"I..." Harry bit his lip. "Yeah," he said. "I think that's what I'm here for. I mean, not just kissing. But I like you, Liam, and...yeah, kissing would be cool."

"Gross," Niall muttered, but Zayn just giggled. Their daddy was happy, Zayn could tell. Liam made their daddy happy, and that was enough for him.