Capable

🅒🅗🅐🅟🅣🅔🅡 6

NIALL

"Liam, I know that this looks fifty- seven shades of wrong, but--" I hastened to defend myself from the social worker knelt beside my tub as I maneuvered Harry upright in my arms, so that he was sitting in between my legs in the bottom of the tub.

The curly-haired boy cried out at the contact with the nasty rash on his bum and tried to stand up.

"Liam, can you get us a couple of towels?"I asked, adjusting Harry so that he was crouching down faving me instead of sitting.

He looked into my face curiously, his green eyes shining with questions under his furrowed brows and his pink lips parted and shaking with the temperature of the nippy bathroom.

"Why is-is it cold, Niall?!" he chattered, rocking on his heels and leaning into my shoulder for comfort.

Liam returned just then with the towels and I wrapped the larger of the two around Harry, who snuggled into the terrycloth and sighed contentedly.

I suppose he just hadn't noticed Liam's presence yet, because he hadn't said anything, but I figured I'd better introduce him since he'd have to know him sooner or later.

"Harry," I began, tapping him on the shoulder and pointing to Liam,"That's my friend, Liam."

Liam's intimidating posture softened as Harry threw his head back, his chocolate mane dripping and his eyes wide.

"He's so big, Niall," the boy gasped, after a moment of scrutinization, he inched further into my arms and tried to bury his face into my neck.

I hadn't told Liam about Harry's condition, but I could see the light of understanding dawn in his brown eyes as they took on a new warmth and softened as he knelt down beside the tub once more.

"Hey, Harry," he greeted the quivering lad gently, putting a hand on his back with so much caution one would have thought the teenager was made from China and Liam afraid of cracking him.

"Are you Niall's other friend?!" Liam gasped with mock excitement, his eyes opening dramatically.

Harry turned his head against my chest, so that his cheek and ear were pressed over my heart but he was facing out towards Liam, snuggling into me as he nodded quietly in response to the question after a moment's thought.

"You must be a really cool guy, then," Liam chuckled, rubbing circles into the back of Harry's towel with his fingers lightly, trying to make certain the boy wasn't frightened of him.

Which, compared to how he reacted with Louis and Zayn, he really must have liked Liam, because he wasn't panicking as the taller man spoke to him. Liam was basically magic when it came to children, though, so I wasn't too surprised.

"Would you like for Liam to help you out of this chilly bathtub?" I asked the shivering boy, looking down at the dark brown crown tucked beneath my chin.

Harry sat up and weighed his options carefully, looking around the bathroom anxiously.

"I will," he stated, after a moment's consideration, starting to climb out of the tub.

"Because Niall is-is cold, and-and I need to g-get him a blank-blankie," he stuttered his explanation out and my mouth dropped wide open in shock.

Liam gave me a questioning look, but I ignored him.

"Harry, that's so sweet of you," I cried, almost seriously about to cry as the skinny boy walked past Liam to leave the bathroom.

Harry turned around to look at me, and see what all my fuss was about, "I am so proud of you, you're such a big boy!"