Sugar ♡ Niam AU [COMPLETE]

EIGHT

"I had a lot of fun last night," Niall gushed to Liam when he came in the next day. Liam didn't even crack a smile, though -- he just stared at Niall tiredly. "Are you okay?"

Liam nodded, even though he was anything but. "Do you wanna go out again?"

Niall bit his lip, squinting at Liam. "I mean...you don't really seem like you do."

"No, I totally do." Liam's voice was monotonous. 

"What's going on?" Zayn's voice floated in from the kitchen. His eyes flickered from Niall's trembling lower lip to Liam's disinterested stance. "What the fuck did you do?" he demanded of Liam, immediately furious.

"I didn't do anything," Liam said, hands up, defensive. 

"Niall, what happened?" Zayn turned to face him, but Niall was rubbing nervously at his arms, not looking at anyone. "Niall?"

Niall just shook his head. He looked so tiny and fragile and small, and Liam felt a pang of guilt.

"You should go," Zayn said quietly. Anyone who hurt Niall faced Zayn's wrath, Liam could see that. There was a fire sparking behind Zayn's eyes, but he was controlling it, at least until Niall was out of the way. "Okay, tell me what's happening," Zayn said, pushing Niall back into the kitchen.

"I don't know...he's acting weird." Niall chewed on his lip. "Last night, he was so...I don't know. It was great, the kids had fun, everything was perfect..."

"But?"

"But today he went flat, and I don't understand what I did. All of a sudden he doesn't like me anymore? I'm confused, Zee, I..." Tiny sobs fluttered up from Niall's chest. "I feel so confused! I haven't b-been with anyone, and h-he makes me f-feel something...b-but he doesn't c-care!" Niall dissolved into sobs, and Zayn held him, wishing he could take all of Niall's sadness away.

~ ~ ~

Zayn was leaving the bakery two minutes later to snap at Liam when he heard him.

"No, it's working," Liam was saying. "I swear it. Look, Dad, he's halfway in love with me already...All I have to do is encourage him to give up the business, and the hotel complex is mine." There was a pause, supposedly when Liam's father responded. "No, yeah, of course. Hurting him isn't a problem. Okay, bye."

Liam rounded the corner when he bumped directly into Zayn. "Fuck," he muttered.

"You're fucking sick," Zayn snarled. He was so angry that his hands were shaking. Why would anybody want to hurt Niall? "He's so innocent, and loving, and good, and you took advantage of that! And his fucking kids!"

"I didn't mean--" Liam began, but Zayn's hand lashed out and smacked Liam across the face. Liam gasped -- it hadn't really hurt, but he was surprised by it. 

"You're going to tell him the truth," Zayn spat. "If this ends up breaking him, Liam, I swear to God, I will enjoy killing you."

~ ~ ~

It was hell, telling Niall the truth. Watching his pale face turn pink, and then red with fury, seeing it crumple with frustrated, hurt tears. 

"H-How could you--?" Niall could hardly even breathe, and his chest felt like it was on fire. 

"I'm sorry," Liam blurted. And the hardest part was that he really did like Niall, a lot, but he had to hurt him to support his business. It was the way the world went.

"And m-my kids?" Niall sniffed pathetically. "Y-You had it in your plan to h-hurt them, too?"

Liam hesitated. "Niall..."

"My fucking babies?" Niall wailed, and then he was so angry that he burst into tears again. The thought of someone going out of their way to hurt him was despicable, but to hurt his kids was just nauseating. "Get the fuck out!" he yelled, lashing out, smacking at Liam's chest, his face, anywhere he could reach. Liam caught his wrists.

"I'm sorry," he said over the sound of Niall's enraged yells. 

"Get out!"

"Niall, please--"

Niall just flipped him off with both hands, and then shoved Liam so hard he fell out of the chair he was sitting on. "I hate you," Niall spat, even though he didn't really mean it. He didn't hate Liam -- he wasn't capable of hate. But he was angry, and Niall didn't take shit from people. He was known as the type of person who would walk past you like you hadn't even met. 

~ ~ ~

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Zayn said to Niall. They'd shut down the bakery after Liam left, and Niall had practically curled up like a kitten in Zayn's lap. Zayn was stroking his hair, gentle, wishing that he could protect Niall from any and everything.

"Zayn, I love you," Niall said quietly, voice muffled by his shirt.

"I know. I love you, too."

~ ~ ~

Zayn stayed over at their place that night, wanting to be sure that Niall was okay before he left him alone. Right then -- like many other times in his life -- Niall realized he had the best friend in the whole world.

"Unca Zee," Isaac called. He was driving his toy car over Zayn's tattoos. 

"Yeah, baby?"

"Where's Liam?" Niall stiffened at Isaac's question, and Zayn sighed.

"You might not see him for a while, love, okay? But we're gonna be just fine. But...hey, Isaac, listen to me," Zayn urged, because Isaac looked like he was about to cry.

"He left?" Isaac's lip trembled. "B-but...thought he liked us!"

"Nobody likes us," Zoey's voice said lowly from the couch where she was reading.

"Zo," Zayn admonished. 

"What? It's true," she pouted. "He left 'cause he doesn't like us."

"That's enough," Zayn snapped. Even Niall looked over at him, wide-eyed. "So what? One person might not like you. That's his loss, because our little family is the best thing that would've happened to him." Niall smiled at Zayn including himself in their little family. "Isaac, I need you, and you, too, Zo, to watch out for your daddy when I'm not here, okay? He's very sad about Liam leaving."

"Okay," Zoey nodded after a beat of silence. "We love you, Daddy."

"We protect Daddy," Isaac nodded, and again, Niall burst into tears.