Take Me Home

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Liam's parents were lovely, Zayn found.

"Where are they then?" his mother asked, as soon as she had entered the living room after squeezing the life out of her adopted son.

Liam chuckled at his Mum and Zayn smiled, standing awkwardly by the doorway because he wasn't really sure how to act. His own parents had never been much good, and this was different to him, the way the Payne's interacted.

The lady was tall and had lines around her mouth from age and smiles, her name being Sandra. Her hair was blonde and grey, tugged back into a ponytail, and she wore a loose purple sweater with a pair of flared denim jeans. Liam's father (whose name was Gavin but he'd insisted on just Gav) was shorter than his wife, dark hair and eyes to match, and a belly-rumbling laugh. He was stocky but not even slightly intimidating, with soft features. He wasn't at all afraid to hug his son just as hard as his wife had upon entering the house.

"Oh, and this must be the handsome man who decided to deal with my son," she said, smacking Zayn on the chest with the back of her hand slightly, all of them laughing at the scowl Liam threw at her. She took Zayn by surprise when she grabbed him into an embrace and rocked him from side to side dramatically, before grabbing him by the cheeks. "Well, I can't say you have bad taste, Lili," she said, and Zayn laughed, looking over the woman's shoulder to where Liam was standing with his head in his hands like an embarrassed teenager.

She let go of him and Liam's father took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Welcome to the family, son," he said, voice as fluffy as the rest of him looked, and Zayn felt almost ready to cry until the man spoke again and said, "so, when's the wedding?"

Zayn felt his eyes widen and he shook his head. "Oh, uh -"

"He's joking, Z. Jesus, Dad," Liam sounded exasperated.

Zayn watched in amusement as the man turned around with hands raised. "I'm serious! I need to know so I can buy a good suit. What do you think, navy?" he asked, and Liam swatted at his arm, face flushed as his father looped an arm around his neck, ruffling up his hair.

"So, where are these boys I've been looking forward to meeting?" Sandra asked, and as if on cue, three more people entered the busier than usual living room.

Louis and Niall looked nervous, Harry looked plain tired, wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and some thin joggers, rubbing his eyes on the cuff.

Zayn wrapped his arm around their oldest's back, knowing that it was a big thing for him to even be out of bed today and that he deserved all the support he could get.

Sandra smiled at them all and they all became visibly less worried. She looked at Niall first. "You must be Niall, I can tell by the hair," she said, gesturing to his blond hair. She turned to the other two in turn. "Which makes you Louis, and you must be Harry," and when she spoke to the teen, she tugged him away from Zayn, into a tight hug as if she knew exactly what he was going through.

Zayn was surprised to see Harry return the embrace, and he caught his boyfriend's eye from across the room, smiling softly at him.

Gavin sat on the armchair and waved the two younger boys over. "Football," he began, looking at Louis, then turned to Niall and said, "Music. Two of the best things on the planet if I say so myself," he told them, and they both grinned.

Zayn watched the scene with happy eyes as they all chatted and got to know each other. He could tell they were all going to get on just fine.

#

A couple of hours later and dinner was over, everyone had polished off the cake and they were all lazing around in the living room.

Louis and Niall had both gotten a place on one of Gavin's knees, Harry was nestled beneath Sandra's arm, and Liam and Zayn were snuggled up practically on each others laps in the armchair.