Reason To Be (A Zouis Family AU)

Interlude Four, Extra One

Brothers Stick Together
[the one where harry refuses to let anyone take his little brother away from him — set before part one]

Harry always keeps Niall close to his side when they have open days at the home. He learned the hard way that letting his brother wander off when there are potential foster parents roaming the halls is not a good idea — there's no way he's ever letting anyone try to separate them again after that close call.

So his arm stays over the three year old's shoulder as they sit in the window seat; it's the only place where Niall will stay for more than five minutes without losing interest and running off again. They like watching the birds that nest in the trees at the end of the yard; he admires their feathers and the way the bigger ones protect the babies, but he's pretty sure Niall just likes that they can fly.

The three year old prods a finger heavily against the window, leaving behind a clammy smear, eyes wide.

"S'a blue one!" He exclaims excitedly, and Harry smiles at his little brother, leaning his head against the glass and squinting his eyes to see what his brother is talking about. There's a pigeon passing by, and he sits back with a disappointed pout.

"That's grey, Ni," he corrects in a soft voice, and Niall shakes his head adamantly.

"Blue! Blue, blue, blue! S'a blue birdie w - wiv big wings and s'gonna peck! Peck!" He babbles, turning to face Harry and poking him with a tiny finger in the stomach every time he says the word 'peck'.

He just giggles and catches his brothers finger gently, poking him back until the three year old squeals. "I'll peck you!" He chirps back, and Niall laughs gleefully, squirming around as he gets tickled.

Someone steps up beside them then, and Harry quickly stops what they were doing to look up at the smiling face of Ms Jessie, one of the workers in the home. She's nice and everything, but she always tries to tell Harry that he can't be with Niall all the time, and he doesn't like that. Niall's only little, and even if Harry's not even six yet himself, he's still his big brother and he has to take care of him.

"You boys having fun?" She asks, and Harry nods mutely whilst Niall grins.

"Uh-huh! The birdies are gonna peck you!" He exclaims, and the woman looks surprised before she lets out a small laugh.

"That so?" She asks, and then she doesn't wait for an answer because the adults here never do. Harry doesn't like that either. "Don't you two want to play with some of the other kids? There are plenty of people here today looking to take a little boy or girl home," she tells them.

Niall doesn't seem very bothered, already moving up onto his knees and turning back to the window, pressing his whole face against it to watch the birds again. Harry keeps an arm in front of the smaller boys stomach between the window, almost protectively. He shakes his head.

"We're okay, Miss Jessie," he says quietly, because as much as it does look fun to play with the toys that the other kids are playing with, and as much as he really does want to join in with their games, it's safer if they stay out of the way.

Miss Jessie's brows pinch together and Harry doesn't like it when she looks at him like that so he looks away, kicking his small legs off the edge of the window seat whilst Niall speaks gibberish to himself whilst jabbing his fingers against the window.

"Well I'm sure there are plenty of people who might like to give you or Niall a nice home to go to, a family. Don't you want your brother to have a Mummy and Daddy, Harry?" She asks, and Harry's head snaps up at that, stomach doing a weird twisty thing that makes his heart feel bad.

"We don't need a Mummy and Daddy. We gotta stay together," he states, looking up at her again as she stands up straight and breathes out a sigh.

"Okay sweetheart," she mutters, then speaks in a lower volume that Harry isn't sure she means for him to hear. "Don't say I never tried."

She leaves them alone again then and Harry watches her go with a frown of his own. "Meanie," he mumbles to himself, then presses his lips together and watches the other children play happily with all the toys for a while. None of the others have little brothers to take care of. It's different for them.

He catches the eye of a man and woman across the room, young and smiley, their own eyes planted in Niall as he watches the birds with wide eyes. He reaches up to wrap his hand around Niall's wrist and tugs slightly.

Niall looks down at him and then sits on his heels rather than staying up on his knees. "Pretty birdies, Haz," he says pointedly with a grin. "I wanna make friends wiv 'em!"

Harry smiles softly back at his brother, glancing over to see that the man and woman are looking somewhere else. He feels his chest loosen a little. "Wanna get cookies?" He asks the younger boy, because at least in the dining room, nobody will come looking for them.

Nobody will try separating them.

Niall nods quickly, clapping his hands. "Cookies!"

Harry grins and takes the three year old by the hand, guiding the both of them through the crowds of grown people and into the quiet of the dining hall. He lets out a breath.

"We gotta stick together Ni," he says quietly, even though his brother is already headed towards the tall shelves where the cookie jar is. He watches him with that bad feeling in his heart gone, replaced by a warmer one.

They're gonna stick together. He's never letting anyone take his little brother away from him.

AN:
thought i would start on something light and fluffy because it's been a while ;) this was short but i wanted to keep it sweet so here we go! another two extras will be posted today!!