To Be Loved

FOUR

Liam smiles as he rolls up the sleeves of Niall's school jumper once more. The boy is borrowing some of Louis' spare uniform, and the clothes are too big for him - the waistband of the trousers cinched in with a shoelace threaded through the belt-loops at the back, the jumper sleeves rolled up to sit comfortably at the base of his palms.

He's sitting on the couch currently, with Niall standing between his legs, little hands on Liam's knees to steady himself as the man dresses him. Liam smiles softly at the anxious look on the little boys face, resting his own, much larger, hands over the top of the boy's tiny ones.

"You look so, so smart," he tells the child softly.

Niall sucks in his bottom lip, big blue eyes glancing up at Liam's face for a second before he looks down again, not saying anything.

The boy is very quiet, very anxious, easily overwhelmed. Liam isn't surprised, given his past - the boy has been living on the streets with an abusive father and no other children his own age around. It makes sense that all of this, home-life, family-life, would be a lot for him to handle.

Still, it's clear that the seven year old has quickly warmed up to Zayn, and even more so, Harry.

"It's okay to be a little nervous, honey," he tells the boy, wanting nothing more than to scoop the boy up and hug him close like he would with Louis. God knows the little boy is absolutely adorable and in dire need of enough hugs to make up for the past seven years of his life. "Trying new things can be scary at first, but after a little while -"

"I don't wanna go," the boy says suddenly, blue eyes impossibly big and afraid, face pale. He sucks in a wobbly breath and shakes his head, his eyes filling with tears. "I don't wanna go!"

Liam barely has a chance to react to the child's fear-filled words before he's running away, out of the living room and up the stairs. He hears the bathroom door slam shut, then the lock sliding across, and he winces.

Louis, eating his cereal at the coffee table whilst morning cartoons play on the TV, looks up with wide eyes at the sudden commotion.

"Did he get scared again?" The eight year old asks, sounding concerned.

Liam stands and sighs, nodding. "Yeah, sweetheart, I think so."

Louis pauses, then lifts his chin a little. "I won't let anyone say anything mean to him, and - and I'll stay wiv him all day long. And Luke and me will look after him," he states, nodding.

Heart swelling fondly for his son, Liam bends down and presses a kiss to the crown of his head, stroking a hand through his hair after. "You are too sweet, you know that? I'm so proud of you."

Louis beams at the praise, shrugging his shoulders up. "M'being a big brother. Like Harry," he says, and Liam chuckles.

"And you're doing an amazing job," he says, standing up straight and releasing a breath. "I'm gonna go talk to Niall, okay? Once you've finished your breakfast, put your bowl in the sink, alright?"

Louis nods, already looking back at the TV. "'Kay, Daddy."

Liam smiles to himself as he leaves the room, heading up the stairs. The spare room that the twins had been in is now empty, and as rough as it always is seeing kids leave, seeing how ecstatic the two five year olds had been upon seeing their mother again had been so worth it.

When he gets to the bathroom, he knocks softly on the door, heart aching when he hears quiet sniffles from inside the room.

"Niall, honey," he calls out softly. "Can you unlock the door buddy? You can stay in the tub and we can just have a little talk," he says, because he already knows without a doubt that the tub is where the boy will be.