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for-narry · 7 years

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On its Way to Sunrise

Summary: Niall Horan is a single father who works at a shitty gas station and Harry’s the cute professor who comes in for coffee.

Chapter 5/?

Slumped and strung out, Niall struggles to keep his wandering mind focused at the task at hand; counting the beeps coming from the broken vending machine. Really, he didn’t have much to do at three a.m. in a gas station stuck in the middle of nowhere. So, as to not get bored (he didn’t admit it, but thirty minutes into his shift he’d already started to feel extremely bored) he willed himself to count all the beeps from the vending machine in the corner for the next ten minutes. He didn’t have much to do for a few hours now, after midnight only the occasional scragglers came along. After being dropped off by Harry earlier, Niall had settled into his stool, ushered Vicky out the door, even though she insisted she stayed with him for a few minutes longer, and helped the next few customers. But that was hours ago.

Two minutes in and 100 beeps later, Niall gave up his task. Sighing he looked around the gas station looking for something to do, possibly restocking some products or a dusty spot in a corner that must be broomed right away. He came empty handed. Working these shifts were the worst, he hated them, not many people drove by at three a.m. to get gas and those who did, were rowdy crowds a little too drunk to be in public. But he wasn’t going to start complaining now, there was one thing his boss hated and that was complainers.

Turning around in his stool, he looked at the dark screen of his phone which he had placed on the counter after he bid Eoghan a good night sleep and promised to be there when he woke up eight hours ago (“Papa I had so much fun with those kids, Michael and Alaia even invited me to their house next week!”). After staring at the dark screen for a bit too long, the screen brightened and covering Eoghan’s eyes was a white message notification. Squinting a bit and leaning towards it, he didn’t feel the need to pick up the phone, Niall noticed Mary’s name in black.

Sorry I didn’t call tnite…, she texted.

He was surprised, after Mary had gotten a proper job and all, she was in bed at a reasonable time and cut off any communication till the next morning, but here she was texting Niall at three eighteen.

He wasn’t really surprised by the text messages though, Mary always forgot to call on the day she had promised she would, usually she’d shoot him a text about a week later apologizing. Again, there was nothing shocking by the text, albeit he was a bit relieved over the fact that Eoghan had clearly forgotten his mother was supposed to call him, it saved him the extra tears and blubbery statements.

Scoffing to himself, Niall angrily grabbed at his phone and tapped the notification; mary ur shite at this callin bck thing ,, nxt time don’t promise u’ll call . .

Just after sending it, the grey bubble and three dots immediately appeared, mentally preparing himself for a resentful conversation over text. They hadn’t always been like this, the constant arguing that occurred every time they talked (read: rarely) was a new development.

It’s nt my fault, nail l i, smthin cme up.

This was really getting tiring, Niall thought to himself. Something always came up with Mary, something always stopped her from calling back, something always stopped her from visiting Eoghan the few times she was supposed to. Something always got in the way of her actually being around her son.

The irritation that he’d originally felt before Harry had come in, came back in a wave. He felt childish punching in letters onto the screen, the irritation soon developed into anger and Niall couldn’t do much but tap harder on the screen.

smthing alwys comes up???

The three grey dots appeared again, but not waiting for her response he typed quickly a ‘i dnt wnt t do tis rght nw mary,, this is not a convo we shld be hving rght nw.’

The three grey dots appeared, waving around in their grey bubbled mocking Niall with his ignorance of her next text, but after a minute, the grey bubble disappeared.

“Fecking pathetic,” Niall scoffed, placing the phone down on the counter and crossing his arms over his chest he continued in irritation speaking to no one, “Always ends the conversation when it’s getting good.” shaking his head Niall bitterly laughed.

He was getting tired of this, the never-ending fights that they had, the stupid awkwardness that arose every time they spoke if they weren’t fighting, Mary’s fucking lack of trying to meet up Eoghan. He was tired of her excuses… But he get’s it, what more takes your time and steals it from under your grasp then a child--

But Eoghan is Mary’s son, her firstborn, and it may not be with Jonah but Eoghan still matters--

Niall’s bitter thoughts were cut off by the sharp rings of his phone, the screen lit up and Mary’s name popped up in white block letters just over the green and red buttons.

Fighting any urge to not pick up, he answered the call, “So you can find the shitting time to call me but you can’t even keep a promise to Eoghan? What the fuck do you want now Mary?” he spat out angrily. The last thing he wanted to do now was talk to her, especially when he could feel the impending headache starting its banging right at his left temple.

“Don’t fucking talk to me like that.” Mary breathed in sharply.

“Pardon, did my tone offend you? Did me reminding you that you have another son… Annoy you?” Niall said through the phone.

“Just because I missed one phone call? Look Niall, I had a busy day and I don’t need your crap right now--”

Interrupting her, Niall said, “You can’t make time for him? You talk to him twice a month, you seem him even less, and you live an hour away. You can’t spare a single second in your busy schedule to see Eoghan? What the fuck is wrong with you, Eoghan’s your fucking son too.”

“Why should I be the one having to go to you guys?! Why don’t you put some effort and bring him here--”

Chuckling mockingly, Niall rolls his eyes and with hostile quietness he says, “You sound like a fucking cunt--”

Before Niall could finish getting his sentence the bell over the door rang with the entrance of a ruffled Harry, who immediately stopped smiling when he saw the grim expression on Niall’s face.

Interrupting Mary’s angry shouts, calmly Niall said, “Call me when you get your fucking priorities straight, Mary.” and hung up.

“I… Pardon… Do you need something Harry?” Niall asked him, trying to calm down the rapid beating heart.

Clearing his throat, Harry stayed in his spot by the door, with embarrassment he says, “I… I’m really sorry, I didn’t realize you were…? I can- I can leave if you want me--”

Quickly interrupting him, Niall rushingly sat up from his seat, “No! I mean it’s okay… Uhh, nothing’s happening. I just… Do you n-need something?” he asked again.

Breathing out in relief Harry began making his way closer to the counter where Niall was stood, only taking a pause in front of the coffee maker. “Um, truthfully I came to… To get coffee. I just. I was driving home from the… From grading papers when I saw, um, that you were still here so I decided to drop by.”

Briefly glancing at Niall, Harry turned to the coffee machine and said, “I’m… I’m gonna get coffee.”

After an abrupt pause Niall asked, “You were grading papers at three in the morning?”

Even turned away from him, Niall could see Harry’s cheeks heating up.

“I- I may have fallen asleep and woken up a bit ago…”

Not able to control himself, Niall burst out laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Harry exclaimed.

Harry’s on his way out of the petrol station in a bit, coffee in hand and plenty of fatigue to carry him all the way home. Whilst Niall’s left inside of the small store, only accompanied by the humming of the refrigerators and the constant beeping of the vending machine.

Sighing, Niall slouched in his chair and began to count the beeps from the machine once again.

One… Two… ThreeFourFive… Six… Seven…

Six a.m. came barrelling after his conversation with Mary. Stewing in his anger for the next two hours and a half, by the time six am hit, Niall was ready to head home and be with his son. Even if it would be for a bit. In the meantime, Niall gathered his stuff from the back where it was placed, and dropped it by the legs of the stool so at the moment Vicky passed through the door he’d be out in a jiffy.

More customers presented themselves around this time, most were just buying snacks or coffee because the stinking petroleum was enough to ward them off from refilling their tanks in this station. With newfound energy Niall rung up their orders and helped the next customer, trying to get them sorted out in less than a minute. Of course he understood that speeding up wouldn’t do much because he wasn’t allowed to leave the station without Vicky being there. As luck would have it, Niall was stuck manning the register for longer than he wanted, Vicky was once again running late.

After ringing up the last customer, Niall started tapping his fingers impatiently on the countertop, eyes flickering back and forth from the clock on the wall to the dark screen of his telephone.

“I’m here darling! I’m here!” Vicky said as she made her way through the door, the bell chiming after her arrival.

Resisting the urge to rush out of the room, Niall waited until Vicky made her way to the register, she walked slow but with purpose and a smile graced her face. “I’m sure you’re just dying to leave, love. Why don’t you head on out there.” She said kindly, waving to the direction of the door.

Any other time Niall would’ve insisted to stay for a few minutes until Vicky settled into her place, but today he was crawling out of his skin to get far from this place. He was ready to head home and get back to his bed… His son. Niall grabbed his bag and tapped Vicky’s frail left shoulder on his way out. He threw a “thank you!” behind his shoulder before making his way out to the bus stop where he would wait for a while for the bus to appear.

Once it did, Niall thanked up above for all the empty seats inside.

Getting back home was a blur, from exiting the bus to walking back home all faded away into the background because all he could think about was the conversation he had with Mary. Mary, the mother of his son, the woman he learned to love so dearly as a friend, the only woman who understood what Niall had felt and experienced with the birth of Eoghan… When had they gotten so distant from each other?

Thinking back, Niall couldn’t pinpoint a specific date or time, couldn’t remember when she stopped calling, when she started visiting less, it all happened so subtly he couldn’t remember it.

But it had happened and now they’re stuck in a loop of arguments that always went the same way and resulted in the sames ways. They wouldn’t talk for a few weeks, and then Mary would call again, and somehow they’d end up arguing about something.

They always do.

Dismissing his thoughts as he arrived at the complex, Niall was greeted with the sight of a tired looking Mrs. Martha waiting beside the front door of his flat, her arms were crossed on her chest once again, “You’ve got a very chatty boy, Niall.” was all she said before patting his arm and walking towards her own apartment.

He shook his head and scoffed, didn’t he know it.

When he entered his apartment, all Niall did was drop his bag and coat on the knob of the door and trudged towards the kitchen to prepare himself some tea.

There was no point in going for a nap when in a few minutes he’d have to get Eoghan up and ready for school.

He could feel the weight of sleepless nights slam down on his shoulders. All he wanted to do right now was cuddle up in his bed and sleep for long.

But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

The sound of the shrilling kettle woke him from his trance, he took a travel mug from inside the peeling cupboard and prepared himself some tea. “Here goes nothing.” He said to himself.

Eoghan was good to him this morning, seeing his Papa looking worn down was enough indication that this morning was not for playing around. He got up from bed without a fuss, getting up and ready without needing his Papa to tell him twice and even whilst he struggled to tie his shoe, he powered through it because he didn’t want Papa to be any more tired than he already was.

Eoghan settled himself up on the chair at the table and placed his hands on the top, “Papa can I have cereal today?” he asked, knowing that cereal was something easy to make and wouldn’t cause Papa any worry or trouble. He smiled up at his Papa who turned to him with a look of surprise and bewilderment when he said what he wanted.

Squinting his eyes, Niall asked the seven year old, “You sure you want that bud? I know you like eggs on toast better.” he could already tell what Eoghan was trying to do-- and that broke his heart.

Niall put the travel mug down and walked towards Eoghan, placing his arms around his son he said, “Buddy you don’t have to worry about me. If you want eggs on toast I’ll make it for you… I’m find O, just a bit tired, but that’s not something you have to worry about, okay?” he rubbed his hands over Eoghan back and closed his eyes.

This wasn’t what he wanted. He never wanted Eoghan, his seven year old, to worry about him. That’s why he always tried to put a front. To avoid something like this! A seven year old shouldn’t be worrying about his parent’s, not like this, not ever.

Feeling tears well up in his already bloodshot eyes, Niall blinked repetitively willing the tears away. “Baby don’t you ever worry about me.” he said hoarsely.

Niall crouched down to Eoghan’s stature and pressed his lips on his forehead.

“Okay Papa.” Eoghan said quietly.

The rest of the morning went without a hitch (and Eoghan had his eggs on toast).

Niall didn’t let himself fawn over this morning, knowing that if started thinking about this morning he’d never stop, and he didn’t want to beat himself up today. He wasn’t in the mood for self-pity and wallowing. Instead, he dropped Eoghan off with a brief hug and a promise that they’d go out for ice cream in the afternoon (“promise we’ll have ice cream?” Eoghan had asked. “I pinky promise.” Niall responded and then hooked their pinkies together.), his son deserved it anyways.

On the way up the stairs, Niall would take pauses to scroll through his phone, checking if any of his professors had put up the grades for his final exams. This was his last year and all he was taking was three classes, the only thing he needed now was to pass them and he’d finally be finished with school.

And maybe I’ll be able to get a better job.

Niall stopped once again on the bottom of the steps of the third floor, balancing the empty travel mug under his armpits he unlocked his phone once again with shaky hands to reload the empty page. For a second Niall cursed his stupid mobile for being so slow when finally the page appeared.

“Oh sweet Jesus.” Niall whispered to himself.

There, on the page, was his first final grade.

An A-

“What’cha looking at?” Niall was pulled out of his excitement when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Slightly jumping in fright, he turned to the incoming stranger.

Not a stranger at all, because there stood Harry again with his hands behind his back and a pearly white-smile.

“Jesus you scared me Harry!” Niall exclaimed.

Harry threw his head back in laughter, “You could’ve given me a heart-attack.” Niall said, biting back a smile.

In the midst of his laughter, Harry managed to spit out a, “Sorry! You were just so focused on your phone!” it took him a while to calm down, but once he did, Harry cleared his throat and tried to keep himself from laughing again once he saw Niall’s unamused expression.

He cleared his throat again and said, “Uh… Hello and good morning.” with a bright smile.

Niall rolled his eyes and cracked a small smile, “Good morning to you too. What is it you’re doing here again?”

“I am here to visit my grandmother, actually, for tea.” Harry said, and a second later added, “Would you like to come with? I’m sure my grandmother would love to see you again.” pointing to the top of the stairs.

Shaking his head, Niall said, “Thanks but I’m just going to go home and get some rest… It’s uh.. It’s been a long night.”

“Very well then,” Harry said, “I’ll just accompany you up the stairs.”

As they both walked up the cramped set of stairs in silence, Niall tried to walk up without constantly bumping into Harry. There’s only so much space at the staircase with two grown men walking side-by-side.

Once they made it up to the sixth floor, Niall slowed his walk as they approached his apartment door.

“I guess I’ll see you later then.” Niall said.

Harry nodded his head and waited until the blond man had unlocked his door (not after struggling for a few seconds) before saying, “Wait! Um… Actually I was wondering if I could, um, get your number… You know… Since, uh… You seem like a good guy and… Um--”

Hearing Harry stumble his way through an explanation, Niall spared him and held out his hand, “I… I’ll put my number in your phone.”

Surprised at the comment, Harry fumbled to get his phone out. Unlocking it haphazardly and then placed it on Niall’s awaiting hand.

With the phone in hand Niall typed in his number quickly and then returned it back to him, “Have a good day Harry.” he said before walking into his apartment and leaving Harry outside with a content smile slowly crawling onto an expression

Niall could feel the jitters working their way through his body, his hands shook as he turned the knob and his tummy fluttered with nerves that he hadn’t felt since he fancied his first ever girlfriend. Trying to ignore the feeling of excitement making its way present, he bit down on his lip to stop the smile and shook his head.

He’d only given his number to Harry, that’s it, nothing really to get excited about for God’s sake Niall, he thought to himself. Ridding his thoughts of Harry Niall gazed around the room and grunted in displeasure. The sight of his flat looking dirty and cluttered all at once reminded him of how long it’s been since he properly cleaned the house instead of just shoving things under the table and into the closet.

The floor was covered in random socks with no same pair next to it and toys that Eoghan loved to pick up and later put down on the same place he found them.

Walking down the hall, he pushed the toys Eoghan had neglected to put away and went into his room to get the cleaning supplies out.

He had a long day ahead.

By the time mid-day approached, Niall had managed to clean up the living room and kitchen, leaving spotless floors and counters, as well as organized shelves and toys out of sight. He was feeling much better with having accomplished most of the cleaning before having to go pick up Eoghan.

Niall was about to get started on cleaning the bathroom, something he was not looking forward to, when the silence of the room was cut by the sound of Niall’s shrill ringtone, his mobile shook violently inside of his pocket.. (He was really getting annoyed by the ringtone)

“Hello?” He said whilst walking into the bathroom. He had about an hour before he needed to leave the apartment to get to the bus stop in time to go pickup Eoghan, and he’d at least like to get the bathroom done before picking his son up.

“Oh good, you picked up. Hello Niall!” And on the other side was his wonderful father, Bobby.

“Hey, Da, what’s up? Wasn’t expecting to hear from you today.” Niall said as he started to scrub the toilet.

“I was thinking earlier about you and realized it’s been awhile since we’ve chatted, let alone seen each other. How’ve you been, huh? What about Eoghan? Is he there with you?”

“We’ve been great Da. Eoghan’s in school right now and I’m just getting some cleaning done but I’m leaving soon to pick him up. He’s been well, he was a bit under the weather earlier this week but he’s much better now. How’ve you been Da?”

After scrubbing the toilet, Niall stood up from his knees and moved on to the next task. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the scent of cleaning supplies was kind of nice.

“Oh I’m doing well. I saw Greg and Theo a few days ago, he’s growing up so fast you know? Oh Niall, son, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen you and Eoghan. When can you come over? Maura mentioned that he hasn’t seen you either.” His voice grew faint and began to sound upset.

Niall stopped what he was doing and looked down at his socked feet. It had been a long time since he’s seen his parents. He hated when his mother mentioned how long it’s been, it always served to remind him that he would never be able to afford taking the time off to visit his family, or even go on a holiday.

Missing work for more than a day was not something Niall was looking to do. Every pay meant stability for the two of them.

And of course he wanted to see his parent’s, of course he wanted to see his nephew again, Niall had always been a family man and it killed him to be so far away from them (even though the last time he’d seen them Maura had all but boasted on Greg’s “incredible” life choices of waiting to get married to have a kid, but that was besides the point). But he couldn’t, not now, not when he was barely surviving paying all the bills on time.

Softly Niall said, “Da… You know I’d like to go, but… I can’t now. I’m too busy now, a lot is going on in our lives and… You know I’d love to see you guys again.”

Bobby sighed through the other end and said, “I know Nialler.”

Feeling the weight of Bobby’s words guilt him down, Niall sat on the edge of the tub, and said, “I’m sorry Da.”

“No worries, son. I know how it is. You know… I- I just… Miss you both, that’s all. But don’t worry. Christmas is coming up, maybe I’ll be able to pay you guys a visit, huh?” Bobby said, ever the optimist.

Niall nodded his head, “Yeah.” although he wouldn’t be surprised if his father didn’t come to visit, the old man could barely stand to miss a day of work.

After a pause Bobby added, “Well, I’ll leave you to the cleaning. Tell Eoghan I said hi.”

“Sure will Pa. Talk to you later.” He said before clicking off.

And he was left to wallow and stew in silence, on his lonesome.

It was time to pick Eoghan up.

a/n: sorry for the long wait. this isn’t my best but I hope you still enjoyed it. thank you and feedback is much appreciated. x

#narry #marry storan #narry fic #until next time #narry fanfiction #professor harry #kid fic #narry au #narry storan

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for-narry · 7 years

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late nights and tea

a/n: it’s been a while since I've filled a prompt, but I've been struggling with writing a new chapter for my story so I decided to complete this. I hope you do enjoy and feedback is very much appreciated. xx

summary: after years of an indefinite hiatus, the one direction boys are back, except Louis can’t seem to fall asleep.

They’re older now, late night hours were no longer spent awake with the rush of adrenaline that they once did. Back in the early years of One Direction, the end of a concert only meant the beginning of a party, either back in the hotel or the quick drive to the nearest club. But they’re not young anymore. And staying up past one in the morning was a laughable thought.

Or at least that’s what Louis thought it’d be like returning on tour with the boys, the lads, but after the third show of their new tour and the digital numbers shone a bright three fifty-five am Louis can’t believe that he’s not tired yet. No, well, he is tired. But he just can’t fall asleep.

Fucking uncomfortable pillows, Louis grumpily thought to himself after he’d changed the position of his pillow for the hundredth time that hour. He forgot how bloody uncomfortable the pillows could be on the tour bus.

Or maybe you’re old bones can only handle temperpedic beds. Old man. He thought to himself again.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Louis willed himself out of the bunk and onto the vibrating floor in between the rest of the bunks. The curtains were pulled forward on all the bunks, and Liam’s loud snoring was clear indication that Louis was the only one bothered by the damned bunk beds.

Pulling up his sweats, he decided to make himself some tea, nothing could soothe him better than a steaming cup of tea.

Louis tried his best to walk through the dark tour bus, only occasionally tripping over someone’s shoe (read: Louis’ shoe). He’d barely made it past the seating area when--

“Tommo!” Niall whisper yelled from inside the room.

Flinching noticeably, Louis turned to where Niall’s voice came from, and there he was, in all his half-naked glory, sitting on the sofa with a guitar balanced on his lap and a shit-eating grin, in the dark.

“Bloody fuck. Niall what are you sittin’ in the dark for? It’s creepy as fuck!” Louis exclaimed. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at him. Returning as a band, he thought it would be like learning to live with three other strangers again, it’d been years since they lived all together in a cramped area like the tour bus. Louis was expecting to have to learn all the ticks and twitches of each member once again. And whilst Liam and Harry showed some obvious tweaks, Niall never really changed, sure his hair was brown and the chest hair had grown significantly (it looked like a nasty rug now or in Niall’s words a sexy rug), but his smile never changed. He could light up a room with a grin, whether it be five years ago or now.

Niall cackled from his seat before saying, “Couldn’t sleep so I came here… Didn’t want to wake you lads or anything. But… I didn’t do a good job, I see.” Louis rolled his eyes at him and turned to face the side of the bus, moving his hands along the wall he let out a triumphant “Aha!” when he found the light switch.

Turning back, Louis went to sit next to Niall, who was really wearing the bare minimum, only white boxer briefs to cover his private bits. “You really are the slag of the band, fooling everyone, making them think it’s Harry, when in reality you’re out here only in your briefs.” He commented, pushing Niall’s shoulder and then adding, “Nah, you didn’t wake me. Couldn’t stop me brain from thinking.”

They both sat in silence, the only sounds coming from the vibrating moving bus.

That brief moment of silence was quickly dissipated by Niall fumbling with the strings of his guitar. He set the instrument correctly on his lap and started playing a quick tidbit with the strings.

“What happened to not waking up the lads?” Louis asked staring at his bandmate whose nervous ticks reflected so brightly, from the way he picked at the edge of his briefs to the way he pinched a string prior to playing the instrument.

Niall shrugged, “The feckers deserve to be awake. If I can’t sleep, why should they?” he said jokingly, flashing a smirk over the guitar.

Louis listened quietly to Niall playing, trying to figure out what tune he was playing, but before he could Niall would switch up the tune and played completely different set of chords.

“I’ll make us some cuppa then.” Louis said.

When the call had come, the one from the Simon Cowell and later a string of emails all from the same email chain “Subject: LAds Idas Lad$” Louis knew just what it was about. And he would be lying if he said he hadn’t felt a twist of excitement at the bottom of his gut.

And sure, it took months just to plan the comeback, but it was all worth it when the four of them returned to a single couch and they were heavily styled on before placed in front of bright shining lights and they proclaimed to a camera “Hi, we’re One Direction!” Like they were nineteen/twenty and not thirty-two and thirty-three.

The comeback was a rush that led them straight to stadium tours in front of thousands of people.

And Louis was back with his lads.

They came back like nothing had ever ended, like there weren’t years of difference from being together. The fans came back like the boys hadn’t gone on that indefinite hiatus. It was like nothing had changed, the only difference now were the thicker frames and the added years of age that took its toll on all of them, one way or another.

He poured the boiling water and prepared the cup: milk, no sugar (for both of them because Louis refused to ruin a perfectly good cuppa with sugar.)

He balanced the two cups in both hands a bag of crisps under his armpit, walking back to the seating area Niall was still bare on the couch hunched over the guitar just like before. Louis stomped over to Niall and handed over the mug, getting a grunt in thank you.

Louis plumped down on the sofa, where he’d originally sat, and sighed in relief, “This is fucking bitter.” Niall commented after taking a sip of the tea.

Louis hid his grin behind the mug.

(Niall had always been his favorite to hang around with in the middle of the night. They’d sit for hours nestling drinks in their hands that eventually dripped onto their laps and just existed around each other without talking or doing anything in particular. But he wouldn’t tell anyone that.

Least of all, Niall.)

They sat in silence once more, he glanced around the lit room, taking in all the memorabilia they collected in just the span of a week, when he felt Niall’s soft hand wrap around his bicep and squeeze for just a moment.

“We’re finally back.”

a/n: sorry it’s not my best but hopefully you enjoyed it. feedback is much appreciated. x

#nouis #prompt #prompt fil #niall horan #louis tomlinson #niall horan/louis tomlinson #nouis horanson #one shot

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for-narry · 7 years

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so I may be having a bit of writer’s block when it comes to the new chapter of my story and I was wondering if anyone had any prompts they’d like filled?

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for-narry · 7 years

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On its Way to Sunrise

Summary: Niall Horan is a single father who works at a shitty gas station and Harry’s the cute professor who comes in for coffee.

Chapter 4/?

By the time Niall gets home, all the energy from this morning was long gone. His head was banging from lack of sleep and his skin was prickling from the nervous feelings he got when riding on the bus. On the bus ride home, Niall was stuck between a sleepy teenager, an old woman with too much red lipstick that glared at him every time the bus came to a sudden halt, and behind him a middle aged man whose stomach grazed on Niall’s back and breath stunk even from a meter away.

To say the least, Niall felt shitty.

The walk down the corridor to his apartment door felt endless, Niall felt beat down and all he wanted to do was get inside and sleep. His pillow and sheets were calling him in a sweet symphony that resonated in echoes in his mind and the pounding headache only quickened his pace, the promise of a deep sleep was as an enticing thought that he could not resist. Niall wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was a tiny bit glad Eoghan was in school right now, because if he hadn’t, his attention would go completely to his son and any hopes for some shut eye were gone.

Just before he could insert the keys to the slot, (the lock was fucked so it took him more than three tries just to get the key in, much to his chagrin), Niall was startled by a brazen voice calling to him.

“Oh Niall!” Mrs. Martha called to him from down the hall. She was dressed in bright clothes that hurt Niall’s eyes if he stared for too long. Her hair was in trapped under a satin cloth that matched the bright colors from her clothes.

She was barefoot, but smiling nonetheless.

Think happy thoughts Niall, he said to himself, you’ll be in bed soon enough, no need to get cross. Mentally scolding himself for his irritation, he turned to Mrs. Martha and faked a smile that he guaranteed looked more like a grimace. “Good morning,” He said, “how are you?” he asked quietly. The pounding in his head hadn’t let up for a moment, and her brazen attitude was not helping at all.

“Never mind that, I was hoping I could see you.” She said, waving her hands up in the air before continuing to say, “First I wanted to make sure that you still needed me to watch over Eoghan tonight?” and all traces of irritation left, how could Niall be annoyed at the woman who takes care of his child, even at the most oddest of times, and not once complains or asks to be paid.

Resisting the urge to thank her over and over for always watching over Eoghan when he’s away, Niall nodded his head and rushed to say, “Oh, yes, please. If you don’t have any plans or anything. I know you can be a busy woman, I wouldn’t mind if you had other plans, I could just call a babysitter and--”

Interrupting his rambling, Mrs. Martha laughed and waved away his worries (his thoughts had been running a mile a minute trying to think of anyone he could possibly call that would be willing to take care of Eoghan for the night. He’d come up empty handed) and with enthusiasm said, “Niall you and I both know that I have nothing to do at all. I don’t mind, I know you work constantly. Anyways that’s not what I came to talk to you about, you see, I am part of a book club. A few of my friends and I gather at the little venue down the street and chat about books, it’s the only old lady cliche I let myself have, but I was wondering if I could take Eoghan with me? The girls always bring their grandchildren and since Eoghan is around their age, I think it’d be a great thing for him to interact with other kids his age.”

This early in the morning, Niall’s sleep induced brain was slow to process everything. After taking a too long minute to understand what she was saying he responded, “Oh! Oh, sure, that’s--that’s great. Actually. Yeah, definitely!”

Mrs. Martha clapped once, too loud, “I’m sure he’ll love it. It’ll be good for him to be out and about instead of just watching the tele inside… You know what? The meeting starts around six, why don’t you come over with me, you’ll meet some of my friends, oh, and my grandson! I almost forgot, he comes on Mondays as well, you’ll love him. He’s a charming boy, takes after me of course!” She said boastful.

Nodding his head again (Niall was starting to feel like a bobblehead from all the nodding he’s been doing) and saying, “Yeah, I can do that. You said it’s down the street, right?”

“Yes! At the venue where the retirement homes’ host the weekly adventurous game of Bingo, we’re allowed to use it. I’ll shoot over here ten minutes before six and we’ll walk over there together, how’s that sound?” She asked.

“Perfect.”

Niall had fallen asleep the second his head had hit the pillow, with no hesitation he’d knocked out on his thin and flimsy pillow and delved into a dreamful sleep that soothed his mind. Waking up, his body was covered in sweat, his shirt sticking to his damp body and jeans pressing onto his skin uncomfortably. Nevertheless, Niall just pushed the covers from off his body and stretched around in bed, blinking awake and willing his eyes to adjust to the bright sun rays of the afternoon light; in his head, he thanked his blackout curtains, they were inexpensive and shabby yet worked wonders for days like these.

Rolling in his bed for a few minutes, allowing for his body and mind to wake up as well, Niall got up from bed and looked around the room for his phone. He remembered throwing it over his shoulder after he felt it poking at his thigh uncomfortably when he was getting to bed. After a moment of squinting at the ground he found the cracked and small phone by his shoes, the screen lighting up as he approached it.

He sighed in relief after seeing the time on the phone, he’d already been late at dropping off Eoghan in the morning, he didn’t want to be late at picking him up either. Niall knew it was more of a coincidence than anything else that Harry had been there that morning but he couldn’t help from feeling lucky because he’d avoided the common scolding that Eoghan’s teacher loved to give him, which originated from that first day which Niall and Eoghan had first been late to.

Readying himself to leave, Niall pulled off his damp shirt and replaced it with a dryer one and managed to place his shoes on all in one motion. Years of rushing to get to places on time, Niall had mastered the art of getting dressed in under a minute. Sure, it wasn’t something to be proud of, but it certainly came in handy for moments like this.

The sleep had done him well, no longer did his head throb from a headache, and his mind felt clear like the morning sky of a sunny day.

On his way out of the house, Niall grabbed a banana from the bowl and a little pack of string cheese for Eoghan knowing that the seven year old was sure to be hungry.

By the time he had arrived at the school, the teachers and students were all lined up outside of the school on the small field. He could easily spot Miss Evans, there she was standing stock straight with her greying hair pulled back into an impeccable bun. Unlike the other teachers who outwardly showed their emotions, or at least feigned seeming so happy, Miss Evans stood in front of her students with not a even a ghost of a smile. Her lips were pulled back in a straight line.

Niall really couldn’t understand how his son had been so unlucky to be placed in a classroom with this old grumpy woman (ignoring the fact that Niall had applied Eoghan into school much later than recommended and the only classroom with room to fit his son in was with the phenomenal Miss Evans). Walking towards the line, Niall grinned and waved back to his son who was standing just behind Miss Evans, he was grinning up at his Papa with enthusiasm. (Eoghan’s brown hair was in a shaggy mess on top of his head and he would push it away from his face so he could see his Papa clearly).

Warmth and an emotion akin to joyness spread around Niall’s body, seeing his son so happy to see him only reminded him that nothing would ever compare to fatherhood.

Niall approached Miss Evans, “Good afternoon, Miss Evans,” he said with a smile, he was trying to be nice and hoped that she’d forgotten their initial interaction from this morning, “was Eoghan good this day?” he asked and like expected, Miss Evans only lifted and eyebrow at him, no twitch of the face at all.

Behind her, Eoghan was picking up his book bag from off the ground whilst simultaneously trying to put on his coat, “He was all right, I do recommend you go over a few readings with him, surprisingly he’s very good at math but struggling with reading.” she said before completely turning her back on Niall and saying to Eoghan, “Don’t forget to do your homework.” Eoghan nodded his head then started walking to his Papa.

When he reached Niall, Eoghan lept at him and grabbed onto him, “Hi Papa!” he said into his Papa shirt, “I missed you!” he added.

Hugging him back Niall said, “Me too bud! Here, let me take your bag.” untangling himself from Eoghan, Niall took his book bag and watched the seven year old adjust his coat.

Walking alongside each other, Niall listened intently as Eoghan began his routinely recounting of the day's’ events. Flapping his hands around, Eoghan talked animatedly while avoiding bumping into the other kids who were running and playing around chasing each other.

“And then Miss Evans gave me a gold star! All because I did the problem correctly! Look Papa! See, I put it on my hand.” He said and thrusting his small fist up so Niall could see, and true to his word, there on his fist was a small golden star.

“Wow,” Niall crowded, “that’s great, O!”

Smiling at the ground, Eoghan revelled in his father’s praise.

By the time they had reached the bus stop, Niall had heard a detailed recounting of Eoghan’s day, starting from the morning’s reading to what he had for lunch. In a lapse moment of silence Niall looked at Eoghan and said, “Hey, O, you know I’ll be working tonight, right?”

Eoghan looked up from where he was ripping off another piece of string from the cheese Niall had brought from home, “Yeah, Papa, I know. Do you think Mrs. Martha will bring Mars again? I want to pet her again, she was so nice when I pet her yesterday.” he said and then put the cheese in his mouth.

“About that, Mrs. Marth has invited us to go with her to her book club meeting, they talk about books there, she said there will be other kids.” Niall said.

Before responding, the bus arrived and Eoghan entered with Niall trailing behind him. The seven year old quickly found a seat and sat himself there, patting the empty seat beside him for Papa to sit next to him. Looking at Eoghan expectantly, the seven year old said, “I don’t like reading Papa.”

Chuckling, Niall said, “No bud, you won’t be reading, don’t worry. You’ll be playing with the other kids there. Doesn’t that sound fun? It’ll be more fun than being at home watching TV by yourself.” he ruffled Eoghan’s hair.

Sighing to himself, Eoghan said, “Okay, I’ll go,” he contemplated for a moment before asking, “will you be there?”

Nodding his head, Niall responded with, “Yeah I’ll be there. Only for a bit though, I still have to go to work.”

“Okay, as long as you’re there for a bit.”

“‘Course bud.”

Niall spends ten minutes staring into Eoghan’s drawers and closet, wondering if a clip on tie for Eoghan would be too much for a book club meeting. The said seven year old was on his bed reading a book that Miss Evans had assigned for the week. Giving up, Niall settled on a grey shirt with minimal prints and a pair of jeans. Turning to Eoghan, Niall said, “Come on, O, time to get ready. We’ll be leaving soon.”

Happily giving up his reading, Eoghan got up from his bed and grabbed the clothes Niall had picked out for him. “Why do I have to change again Papa?” He asked as he started changing, he struggled a bit with taking off his shirt but Niall knew it would be futile to help him out (because I’m a big boy now, Papa, I don’t need your help).

Shrugging Niall picked himself up and dusted himself off, he hadn’t worn anything special, knowing that he’d be going to work straight from the book club meeting, he was dressed in his uniform black shirt (he’d bought at some clothes store because their boss didn’t care about uniformed shirts) and black jeans.

Ignoring Eoghan’s question, Niall grabbed O’s favorite pair of shoes to keep him content and from complaining once again. He helped the seven year old put on his shoes but let him tie his own shoes.

They were all dressed and ready by five thirty, much to Niall’s surprise, “Papa, I’m thirsty can I go get something to drink before we leave?” Eoghan asked his Papa as he exited his room. He kicked his football down the hall and sniggered as Niall pretended to have missed the ball when he tried kicking it.

“Yeah! Go ahead, just don’t get yourself dirty!”

It had been awhile since they both went to some place that required some sense of… Socializing. So really, Niall was a bit nervous, although, he tried to remind himself that if these people are anything like Mrs. Martha, there was no need to be nervous.

Eoghan returned to the living room where Niall was turning off the TV, with a juice box in hand. Slurping it for a good minute, the seven year old watched his Papa cleanup around the room, picking up stray clothes and toys that had made their ways out of their respective places. After a moment of Eoghan slurping and Niall mindlessly cleaning to keep his nerves at bay, the knocking sound from the front door resonated.

“Got it!” Eoghan said as he abandoned his juice box in favor of opening the door. Sighing, Niall picked up the juice box and made a mental note to remind Eoghan to pick up after himself.

Making his way to the front door, Niall grabbed both their coats and Eoghan’s bag that was full of some snacks and a book (he had to be prepared). Mrs. Martha was talking to Eoghan cheerfully, “You’ll have so much fun, while I get stuck talking about boring old books.” he laughed at Mrs. Martha expression.

Noticing Niall’s arrival, Mrs. Martha clapped her hands and said, “Alrighty, let’s get going!” and grabbed Eoghan’s hand, pulling him out of the apartment.

The trip to the building was full of Mrs. Martha and Eoghan’s loud chatter, Niall was next to them with an amused expression on his face. He kept a firm grasp on Eoghan’s hand because the seven year old could not keep still, not even when they were crossing the street.

The walk over was quick and refreshing, whilst, Mrs. Martha entertained Eoghan with mindless chatter, Niall calmed himself down from all nerves. By the time they made it to their destination, Niall was calm and mentally prepared for any interaction that could possibly occur.

Mrs. Martha leads them inside the building and down the stairs to a room full of people and chairs being occupied. The room was large enough to fit to large tables in them and still have space for a circle of chairs in the center. The kids were sitting by a table full of books and crayons, whilst the other table was full of snacks, of course, and sitting in the center were a group of women. “Come on guys, let’s introduce you to a few people,” Mrs. Martha said, before leading them over to where a group of older women were sat.

Beside him, Eoghan let go of Niall’s hand and began to remove his jacket, “It’s getting hot in here Papa.” he said. Niall took his jacket and followed the older woman who was already sat with the rest of the group, she waved them over.

“Niall, meet my friends…” Mrs. Martha motioned to each person of the group, listing off names that Niall had, unfortunately, already forgotten.

Waving back to the small group, Niall awkwardly mumbled a hello before lightly nudging Eoghan to do the same and dissimilar to his Papa, Eoghan vehemently waved and said, “Hello! My names Eoghan.” just like that, the group of women were putty in his small hands.

Cooing at Eoghan’s attitude a few mentioned just how “sweet” and “a lovely boy” he was. Niall chuckled and agreed, “Yeah. Yeah, he’s a really good kid.” he said fondly, ruffling Eoghan’s already messy hair. He made a mental note to schedule them both for a haircut, because they were in desperate need for new dos.

The group continued to flaunt over Eoghan and Mrs. Martha took measure into her own hands, pulling Niall out of his state of fondness she said, “Now I have someone special for you to meet Niall, my grandson has just arrived. Eoghan why don’t you come with, you can meet some really cool kids!” The group of women all groaned as Mrs. Martha led them both away from the group.

Still holding onto Niall’s shoulder she said quietly to him, “Eoghan’s going to be a heartbreaker, I tell ya.” chuckling at her comment, Niall pulled at Eoghan’s hand and grinned at him. He was quite proud of his son, even if he was seven years old and barely spelling words correctly.

Mrs. Martha led them to where a group of kids, all ranging from different ages, were hanging out.

“Eoghan,” Mrs. Martha pointed at the group, “why don’t you introduce yourself. I think you’ll like them a lot.” she said. Niall turned to Eoghan, who without hesitation removed his hand from his Papa’s firm grasp. Any doubts that Eoghan would have a hard time socializing were thrown out the window with the seven year olds’ actions. Eoghan walked up to the group and with a smile introduced himself.

Niall watched on for a moment as the kid’s welcomed Eoghan with open arms, a pair of twins took a particular liking to him, asking him if he wanted to paint with them.

“A natural socializer,” Mrs. Martha commented, “well now you won’t have to worry.” she added as an afterthought, smirking at Niall who only shook his head in response, he didn’t mind being wrong for once. Niall placed Eoghan’s book bag next to him before softly tapping his leg.

Mrs. Martha took him away from the kids and led him towards the table full of snacks that was on the other side of the room. “I’ll introduce you to my grandson,” She said, a grin making its way to her face, and just for a second Niall feared her intentions.

Looking at her worriedly, Niall asked, “You’re not trying to set me up or anything, right--”

Cut off, Mrs. Martha shushed him before giving him a big push towards the table. Stumbling at his feet, Niall was tripped onto the back of Mrs. Martha nameless grandson. His body collided with a solid back who in turn was shoved into the table of snacks.

Grunting, Niall stood back and began to apologize--

“Niall?”

And there in all his mysterious glory was a grinning Harry Styles.

Of course.

Of course Mrs. Martha grandson was the tall and handsome Harry Styles.

Stepping in just as Niall began to stumble over his words, his cheeks flaming red from bumping into Harry, Martha clapped her hands once and loudly said, “Well look at that! You two already know each other! No need for me to even introduce myself.” she bound over to them and looked at both of them with an evil glint in her eyes.

Chuckling at his grandmother, Harry shook his head and said, “You can say that.” never taking his eyes off of Niall, who was still recovering from the shove just moments ago.

Mrs. Martha stared at the two quietly for a second before saying, “Aha! Won’t you look at that, Julia is calling me over. Why don’t you two stay and chat for a bit, before the meeting starts of course.” she quickly turned around, clearly intending to ignore any other comments from them.

Niall cursed her for, quite literarily, shoving him into an uncomfortable situation.

“Well, hello.” Niall said, staring back at the intense green orbs that hadn’t looked anywhere else but at him.

“Hi.” He answered back with a goofy smile.

“You know,” Harry started, stepping closer to Niall, “We’ve been meeting like this quite a bit, i’m beginning to think you’re stalking me Niall.”

Scoffing in return, Niall rolled his eyes and said, “If anyone is stalking, it’s you mister. You’re the one who came to my job and somehow magically turned up at my son’s school. Not to mention you were at the market I shop at. Are you hiding something Styles? Are you stalking him?” Niall questioned him, feigning an American accent.

Throwing his head back in shock, Harry laughed out loud, causing a few heads to turn (including a, still, smirking Mrs. Martha who winked at Niall). “You caught me! I was definitely stalking you, finding out which milk type you buy was all part of my plan to get you to notice me.” He said still laughing.

“I knew it!” Niall exclaimed, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach that irrupted from hearing Harry’s loud laugh.

“Yes, I even convinced that old lady to pretend to be my old grandmother!” He played along, after a moment he added, “On a serious note, we do happen to have a lot in common.”

Biting back a smile, Niall said, “What gave that away? Was it the milk cap?”

“We drink the same milk type, we’re practically meant to be!” Harry exclaimed, pushing out his hands in front of him for added effect.

“It’s a small world.” Niall commented.

Smiling at each other, they stayed quiet until Mrs. Martha came barging in, placing her hands on either shoulders, “Well boys, seems like you’re enjoying this chit chat but I must bring it to an end. Niall we’re about to start the meeting and I think you should get going.”

Seemingly jostled out of his reverie, Niall pulled his phone from out of his pocket to check the time and just like suspected he was already running late.

“Yes, thank you for reminding me. I should go.”

About to say his farewells to the both of them, Harry stopped him and asked, “Why don’t I drop you off?” placing his hand around Niall’s arm.

Looking at him expectantly, Niall began to shake his head, “No it’s alright, it’s a ways away, wouldn’t want you driving all that way--”

Cutting him off Harry said, “It’s okay, I should get going as well. I have a night class to teach and the station is on my way anyways. It wouldn’t be a problem at all.” he reassured him.

Mrs. Martha looked at Niall and quietly encouraged him to accept, sighing, Niall nodded and agreed, “Let me just go say goodbye to Eoghan and we could get going.” he said. Harry smiled at him and slowly took his hand away.

“Alright, I’ll get my coat and meet you outside.”

Niall and Harry part ways, he begins to make his way to where Eoghan is painting with the twin. “Hey bud,” Niall says quietly, getting the attention of Eoghan, “hey, I’m leaving now, but I’ll be back to wake you up tomorrow morning, all right O?”

Nodding his head, Eoghan got up from his seat and went to hug Niall, “Goodnight Papa.”

Hugging him back, Niall softly said, “‘Night O.”

Niall leaves the room after saying his farewell to the rest of the group (Mrs. Martha had winked at him when she said her goodbyes).

Reaching the outside, Niall found Harry pacing the front of the building, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, “Sorry for making you wait.” he said, causing Harry to jump a bit.

“No need to apologize! Um, my car is parked just around the corner, we can uh… We can just walk there.” Harry said quietly. Gesturing to the corner, they began to walk towards the corner.

They stepped alongside each other in peaceful quietness, the only sounds were coming from cars driving nearby. Niall inhaled the fresh air and let himself settle down in his bones.

“Hey,” Harry said, interrupting the silence, “Your son, how old is he?” he asked, turning to look at Niall with genuine curiosity.

Surprised by the question, Niall answered quickly, “He’s seven, actually, his name is Eoghan.”

Harry nodded his head and looked down for a moment before smiling at Niall and saying, “He looks just like you.” his words were muffled by the collar of his jacket, but Niall could hear him loud and clear.

Thanking the dim and shabby lights for hiding his blush, Niall cleared his throat before saying, “Thanks…?”

“He clearly got his good looks from his father.” Harry commented before coming to a stop in front of a shiny black SUV. “Here it is,” He said, “just hop on.” he added as he unlocked the car.

Going to open the door, Harry intercepted him and opened the car door for Niall and cheekily said, “For you my dear Sir.”

Rolling his eyes Niall quietly thanked him before settling in and letting Harry close the door behind him. After a brief moment, Harry entered the car and put the keys into the ignition, “Heat?” he asked.

Shaking his head no, Niall said, “No thanks, the heat will only make me sick.” he couldn’t stand being inside a heated car, feeling the room to be too small.

“Okay.” Harry said.

They sat there in silence as Harry pulled out of the parking spot.

Following a period of silence where Niall focused his gaze towards the window, watching the buildings pass by with quickness and speed that a normal bus drive could not compare to, Harry asked, “So… How do you know my grandmother, Martha I mean?”

“We live in the same building… She also takes care of Eoghan sometimes. She’s been very good to us, from the moment we moved in.” Niall responded quietly, eyeing Harry through the corner of his eye.

Chuckling in his seat, Harry shook his head and with a tone of fake incredulity said, “‘Martha’ and ‘good’ in the same sentence?! I never thought I’d live to hear that!”

“She’s a doll, huh?”

The ride to the bus station was much quicker by car than in bus, Niall dutifully noted as he checked his phone for the time. They were about ten minutes from the station and for the first time in awhile, Niall believed he’d make it to work on time.

Suppressing a smile, Niall turned to Harry, “So, Harry… You said you had a class to teach, which one?” he asked.

Harry, with unmasked surprise, stared at Niall with wide eyes and curled the corner of his lips in a small smile, “You seem in a better mood. Anyways, truthfully, I lied. I don’t have a class right now. Okay. Don’t look at me like that! I knew you wouldn’t have agreed to me dropping you off if I didn’t have to be there… So, I lied.” he said, his smile had quickly turned to a smirk.

Glaring at Harry from his seat, Niall crossed his arms, but before he could say something Harry interrupted him, “But hey! Hey! I do have to go back to the university to pick up some work I left, so in a way you’re helping me out. If it weren’t for you I’d probably have to grade all those papers tomorrow morning…. Hmmm… You’re a lifesaver Horan. Think of all that sleep you’re saving me with this trip.” he said cheekily. Taking his eyes off the road for a moment, Harry winked at Niall before throwing his head back in laughter

All Niall could do was bite back a smile and pretend he wasn’t totally enjoying the ride.

wow, I'm so sorry for the late update. I rewrote this chapter quite a few times before I settled on this one. even then I'm not content. I hope you did enjoy it, and as always; feedback is very much appreciated. xx (just a reminder, this story can be viewed on ao3 as well!)

#hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner #narry #until next time #narry storan #narry fanfiction #kid fic #professor harry #narry au

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for-narry · 7 years

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#if you guys would like #this sounds cool

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for-narry · 7 years

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When are you going to update?😢😢😢😢😢

Hi boo, I’m really sorry for not having updated any time soon. I’m in a stump, I’m not sure what I want to do for the plot (because I’m trying to take this somewhere). I’ll try to get something done soon. Sorry again. xx

#anon #answered

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for-narry · 7 years

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On its Way to Sunrise

Summary: Niall Horan is a single father who works at a shitty gas station and Harry’s the cute professor who comes in for coffee.

Chapter 3/?

They spend Sunday morning wrapped in the sheets Niall had neglected to put away after last night's’ activity (Eoghan insisted that the only way to get him to sleep is by watching movies in living room. He had fallen asleep an hour into Mulan.) and watching reruns of Tom and Jerry.

Eoghan settles into Niall quietly, animatedly watching the cartoons, mindlessly grabbing pieces of fruit from the bowl beside him. He’d been feeling much better today, only waking up once in the middle of the night to retch in the porcelain toilet. After sitting there for a while Niall turned to Eoghan, “Hey, O, how you feelin’ bud? Feeling better?”

The seven year old turned to his father, but only because his show went into commercials, nodding his head he said, “Yup! I feel better Papa and… Papa? I’m hungry.” surprised at Eoghan’s comment, yet relieved at the same time Niall shifted from out of the covers.

“Oh yeah? How do you feel about some soup? I think that’s the best option, huh?” Niall asked Eoghan.

The seven year old contemplated for a bit, jutting out his bottom lip and tapping his finger on his chin, “Mmm, I guess. I think I’d like soup Papa.” he said shrugging. He turned back to the TV, seemingly ending the conversation in favor of watching the cartoon show come back. .

Smiling at his son, Niall made himself get up from the sofa, shaking his legs out, his butt had become numb from sitting down for too long. Thinking to himself, Niall mentally prepared what he would use for the soup and what he actually had in the fridge and cupboards. He began to look through the fridge, taking out the necessary vegetables. “Hey Eoghan? Did you do your afternoon reading for Friday?” Niall asked from inside the kitchen.

After not hearing a response from Eoghan, Niall asked again, “O, did you hear me?” he stopped rummaging through a drawer in the fridge waiting for his son to respond. Not at all confused by the seven year old’s lack of response, Niall inspected the vegetables in hand.

A beat of silence and Eoghan finally answers, quietly he says, “Yeah… I heard you Papa,” he quieted down again before saying, “I didn’t do my Friday reading…” Niall heard the telltale sound of the television being shut off before hearing Eoghan’s bare feet hit the ground continuously (Eoghan was a heavy walker, stomping was a better way to describe his walking) until he stopped behind the open fridge door.

Frowning a bit at his Papa, Eoghan already knew what he would say, “Okay, well you know the rules; no TV until the readings done. All you have to read is five pages bud, then you can go back to watching.” Niall said quietly, he was cutting him some slack because he had been sick the whole weekend.

Cheering up a bit Eoghan grinned up at his Papa, “Can I help you when I’m done Papa? I haven’t helped you in a while.” he pushed the fridge door closed when he saw his Pa get up from the ground, carrying an array of vegetables in his hands.

Seeing this, the seven year old crinkled his nose, “Are you putting all of those in the soup, Papa?”

Nodding his head amusedly Niall said, “Yeah, but you’ll like it O. Promise. Now go do your reading, the sooner you finish the sooner you can come help me.” from behind him, Eoghan took off in the direction of his room.

Niall placed his phone on the counter and started up his music, as an afterthought he grabbed the white apron from his the back of a chair, the one with both his and Eoghan’s hand prints and finger painted letters spelling out “Number #1 Papa”. “Might as well cook in style.” He muttered to himself.

He began to prepare for the meal, washing the vegetables and starting to boil a pot of water. He tried not to think about whether or not Eoghan was actually doing his reading, because he has to have some faith in his seven year old.

He manages around the kitchen quickly, one of the responsibilities of moving out from his parent’s place meant he was forced to feed himself (and a baby), without the constant help of a parent. Niall was about ready to place the cut up vegetables into the boiling pot when McBusted was cut off and replaced with the annoying THRINGGG THRING of his ringtone.

Alerted by his phone, Niall placed the bowl of vegetables down before quickly walking towards his phone, he rubbed his wet hands on the apron. It wasn’t often he received a call on a Sunday afternoon, assuming it was Jerry calling him to ask him to pick up an extra shift, he picked up his phone from where it was on the counter.

There on the brightly lit screen was a picture of Mary and Eoghan as a baby. It took him a second to realize who was calling. Niall ignored the negative thoughts in the back of his head telling him something was wrong with Mary, that’s the only reason she’d call anyways…

Quickly swiping the screen, bewildered he let out a “Hello?” over the phone.

The line crackled and Niall could hear the sound of Mary’s muffled yells, “Jeffrey I said stop running!”

“Niall?” She called out over the phone. It never failed to amaze him how quick she could go from yelling loudly to talking ever so quietly.

“Mary? Hey… Um, yeah, hey?” Niall said, surprise laced in his tone. It had been months since Mary’s last call, last visit. Her absence reminded him of when she had left to college, right after she’d given birth to Eoghan. The first two months were nothing like the rest, every week she’d call Niall. They’d talk for hours (“I don’t want to miss anything he does Ni.”). Three months later, Mary’s calls became as infrequent as her visits.

“Sorry, give me a sec, Jeffery what did I say? Go sit and do your homework with Mike. Go,” She said insistently to Jeffrey, “Well hello again Niall.” she added breathlessly.

Their phone calls always started the same way, Mary would be yelling at one of her boys, and her attention would never fully be at the conversation in hand. But he couldn’t blame her, he was a father just as well, knew how much attention needs to be on his son. Niall responded, “Um how’s it going?” he always found that trying to have a meaningless conversation with Mary never worked out, they weren’t the kind to play catch-up or even waste time beating around the bush. Especially after having Eoghan, Mary stood for no bullshit talking.

“Great actually!” She said. Her voice never changed, he noted, still the same raspy quality it was when she was nineteen and talking Niall into following her into her room.

Niall rolled his eyes, already irritated from this phone call, he didn’t bother hiding his irritation, if there was anyone that could understand him as clear as day, it was Mary. “Mary what is it? Why did you call?”

Clearing her throat Mary continued quietly, “Just wanted to know how the two of you are… I saw the picture you put up of O last week on facebook. Y’know the one where he’s dressed up as… Ash? I think that’s his name--”

Niall interrupted her, “I would never take him away from you Mary, but don’t start with this shit, why do you call now?” he asked icily. There was only so much of her bullocks that he could take, a call every six months wasn’t the most comfortable arrangement for Niall.

“I know I haven’t called in a while Ni, but… But I’ve been busy, what with the office and the kids. I’m-- Jonah asked me to marry him a month ago and… And we’ve started the planning and all.”

So that’s why? Jonah was Mary’s boyfriend, well fiance now, father of her two boys and the man that stole her heart when she went away to college. It didn’t bother him to hear of Jonah anymore, or even of Mary’s two other boys. It had been five years ago when Mary introduced him to Jonah, the same guy she had met at uni, the first year after she had given birth to Eoghan. Five years ago Niall would’ve spat Jonah’s name in anger and jealousy, would’ve pulled Mary aside and ask her what kind of fucking mother she was, going around sleeping with other men--

But it’s been five years and he’s grown up.

Moved on.

Mary had as well.

They were adults now. Or at least Niall would like to pretend they were.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Niall threw a “Congratulations,” into the phone. What more was he supposed to say?

“Thanks, um… I know it’s no excuse but… Never mind. Can I--Um can I talk to Eoghan for a bit? How’s he doing? How’s he been?” She asked. He could imagine how she looked, standing with a hand on her hip, tapping her fingers against the meat of her hip. She never got out of the habit of standing and talking on the phone.

Fighting the urge to deny her that, Niall quickly responded with a, “He’s doing his reading, but um, he’s just getting out of a stomach bug. Been puking the whole weekend and feeling under the weather.” he didn’t know how else to respond, what more to give her when he’s used to giving only the bare minimum.

Mary hummed and said, “But he’s better now, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Niall said quietly. “Give me a sec to get him.” He added as an afterthought.

The walk to Eoghan’s room felt like a century, he avoided the toys on the ground and the spare book his son left open, he had placed the phone on his chest. Why subject himself to anymore awkwardness by listening to Mary’s breathing over the phone.

Pushing the ajar door open, he spotted the seven year old on the floor beside his bed. In his hands, Eoghan had his book from school open. He would mutter under his breath the words he read and occasionally push his shaggy brown hair away from his eyes.

“Hey bud,” Niall called out, “It’s Mam.” he said, placing the phone out in the air for him to grab.

And as if he hadn’t just been tuned into his reading, Eoghan pushed his book off in a quick motion. His face lighting up when he saw Papa offering his phone. Grabbing onto the phone, Eoghan placed it on his ear and with a loud bubbly voice he said, “Hi Mama!”

Niall wouldn’t deny his son the bit of happiness his mother gave him.

Different from when watching television, Eoghan was restless when talking on the phone. He never stayed in one place for too long, pacing around the apartment, he’d turn every corner, play with every knob on a door, and still talk on the mobile a mile a minute.

Niall left him to his devices, suddenly remembering the boiling pot of water he had left on.

He figured Eoghan wouldn’t come to help him, as he was preoccupied, so Niall put the vegetables and meat into the pot. Closing it after he had done that.

His thoughts were taking over, tried to think of whatever Eoghan and Mary were talking about (there was only so much he could get from Eoghan’s loud one sided chatter).

After an hour of Niall watching the soup and pretending not to listen to Eoghan, the said seven year old came barrelling into the kitchen. Niall’s phone outstretched in his hands, the screen was black and blank. Giggling loudly Eoghan said to his Papa, “Mam said she wants to facetime with me tomorrow Papa. She said she would call right after I finished my homework!” the enthusiasm in his voice, left Niall a bit amused.

Rubbing Eoghan’s outstretched hand, Niall softly took the phone and placed it on the table. “What did you guys talk about bud?” He asked, knowing Eoghan wouldn’t forget a single detail.

And without failing, Eoghan launched into a recounting of their whole conversation, trying not to leave a single detail out.

Niall listened intently.

Night had fallen and Eoghan was already safe in bed, cuddled up to his sheets and his pillow.

Niall on the other hand was still wide awake. Following their lunch, Niall had gone to help Eoghan finish his reading. Subsequently, leading to them doing the reading for the next few days.

By the time night had rolled in, Eoghan was ready to drop. He’d barely managed to keep his eyes open when he was showering, and didn’t help at all when Papa was putting on his jammies. Niall didn’t complain though, Eoghan going to bed without a fight always meant a good night for Niall.

Anyways, after washing himself up, Niall stayed up to catch up on his online classes.

When Eoghan was born, Niall finished secondary school only to take multiple gap years from uni. There wasn’t any time, Niall had told his parents one night, they had cornered him after he had put Eoghan down for his quarterly kip. There wasn’t any time, I’m a father now and Eoghan needs my attention.

They didn’t bother him about that for a while, not until he had moved out and the best job he could get was full time at a gas station and part time at a music store. Pulling him into the kitchen, Maura had sat him down and laid it all out, “I know you seem content with your… ‘Jobs’. But Niall, I will not let you continue with this.”

They had come to an agreement. Maura and Bobby would pay for Niall’s schooling, or until he’d get his degree, in return for him staying in Ireland.

He agreed.

And on his twentieth birthday he enrolled into Dublin University and moved into the apartment he now lived in with Eoghan.

Four years later and he was on his way to getting his degree.

Niall just had a few more courses to finish, one’s he could take readily online. He prefered it this way, having more time to spend with Eoghan and being able to do his work all at night, when he wasn’t spending time with his son.

He planned to finish his essay tonight, so that tomorrow he’d spend all morning and afternoon with Eoghan (and whilst he was in school Niall would catch up on some needed sleep), before taking the night shift at the gas station.

Niall settled into his bed further, and prepared himself for a long night.

He doesn’t sleep nearly as long as he’d hope. Come four am, Niall was just barely closing his eyes, having pushed his laptop shut deeping a page and half good enough for the night, he swore he’d take a quick five minute nap and then get back to work. He doesn’t wake up five minutes later, heavy in sleep Niall manages to ignore the vibration of his phone, a reminder he had set for himself to wake up.

He had set the bloody alarm to remind himself of the essay he had to complete by today, obviously knowing himself he knew he’d fall asleep only a few hours after working on it. Bleary eyed, Niall felt around for his phone which was still vibrating under him.

And like clockwork, the dull throb in his head made its way up again. It seemed that in recent years headaches and sleepless nights became more prominent. Thinking back, Niall remembered getting more sleep when Eoghan was a baby and waking him at half past three in the morning, than now.

At least, that’s what it feels like. Niall grumbles curses under his breath, an annoyance towards his less than fantastic professors for assigning work due on the same day. A quick tap on his phone screen and the vibration stopped, “Thank fuck,” he muttered in a gritty voice.

He cleared his throat once, twice, before regretfully pushing himself off of his bed. As he made his way out of his room and into the kitchen to prepare himself coffee (because tea wouldn’t keep him up, but coffee, that’d keep him up the whole day and then some), he made a mental to-do list for the day. Topping the list was the few papers he’d have to complete today, in a few hours would be nice, second was waking and getting Eoghan ready for school, and last, taking a kip on the sofa. A much needed kip.

Niall quickly went to heat the water up, taking a stand nearby the kettle, he was prepared to remove it as soon as it started whistling. There was no way he’d risk waking Eoghan up this early in the morning.

The minutes seemed to drag on in Niall’s mind, drowsy and sleep deprived, the darkness of the kitchen was as inviting to him as his bed. His eyes drifted closed and for a second he felt his mind delve deep in a hazy state of sleeping whilst standing up--

That is, until the force of his head drooping down woke him up. Startled by his own movements, Niall glanced around and felt his cheeks heat up for an instance. His embarrassment was of falling asleep was enough to keep him awake until the water was boiling.

This wasn’t the first time Niall had slept standing up (and probably not the last); his first time was reserved for that dreadful Wednesday afternoon, on his way home in a bus packed to its brim. Due to the amount of rowdy teenagers and adults, crowded onto the bus, Niall was forced to stand in the aisle, holding onto the metal bar. Of course, as luck would have it, that day he was surviving on three hours of sleep and eight hours of work, he’d been tired as hell. One minute Niall found himself wide-eyed and awake, the next he felt his head slip onto someone’s shoulder, only to be gently pushed off.

He had been mortified, to say the least.

Groaning to himself after recounting the memory, Niall shuddered of embarrassment. “Never again.” He said to himself and quickly went to make himself coffee.

Turning back to his room, Niall prepared himself for another three hours of paper torture.

Waking Eoghan up was about as amusing as it sounded. Taking after his mama, the seven year old was adamant in sleeping in for as long as he could and today was no exception.

The sunny rays filtered in slowly as Niall opened the curtains in Eoghan’s room, beginning the process of waking Eoghan up Niall made sure to brighten up the dark room. Next, with leisure amusement filling him up, Niall moved to the unflinching seven year old, still lying with one leg on top of his sheets and the other tangled in between his pillow, as if the room hadn’t suddenly brightened. Stomping his way to the bed, Niall quickly pulled the sheets from under Eoghan, and swiftly called out to the seven year old, “Eoghan! Bud, it’s time to wake up… It’s seven!” chuckling to himself, he watched as Eoghan pouted and rolled over onto his stomach, burrowing into the mattress.

And just like the other days, Niall began step four of waking Eoghan up: he inched his way up to Eoghan sleeping figure, as soon as he was close enough, the blond grabbed onto Eoghan shaking him awake. “Aha! Wakey-wakey O!” Niall exclaimed loudly.

Startled by his Papa’s actions, Eoghan’s eyes opened abruptly as he felt his body being lifted from his mattress.

Laying Eoghan back onto the mattress, he suppressed the urge to laugh as Eoghan turned to glare at him, “Well good morning, O.” his Papa said innocently.

All Eoghan did in return was glare at his Papa before sitting up fully. Grinning at his awake seven year old, Niall moved to get up, “I laid your uniform on the chair, O, go get ready. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

Their morning routine was quite simple: Niall would spend five minutes waking Eoghan up before heading back to the kitchen to get started on breakfast, which usually consisted on tea for himself and eggs on toast for Eoghan (or oatmeal if he wasn’t feeling eggs that week because Papa those eggs come from chickens), and by the time they’d finished breakfast they’d be scrambling to leave because Niall always loses track of time.

By the time they’ve reached the bus, Eoghan was already ten minutes late for school, “Sit Eoghan,” Niall said, finding a spare seat between an old lady and a sleeping teenager, “pass me your book bag, I’ll hold it for you O.” he added, noticing Eoghan wiggling in his seat.

Far used to being on the bus every morning, Eoghan was content without looking out the window, choosing instead to recount his call with Mama to Papa again, reminding his papa if he had forgotten.

By the time they reached their stop, Eoghan was twenty minutes late and Niall was frantically rushing off the bus, pushing past the people on the bus whilst still holding Eoghan’s hand tightly. Throwing a thank you over his shoulder, Niall quickened his pace, “Miss Evans won’t be happy I’m late again, Papa.” Eoghan commented offhandedly. He’d seen the look of her face every time Papa would drop him off a little late.

As they arrived at Eoghan’s school, they were greeted by the sight of Lawrence, the security guard, who waved animatedly at them, “Good morning guys!” He said as they rushed passed him.

“Morning Lawrence!” Eoghan and Niall responded.

Groaning internally at the quiet halls and closed doors, Niall mentally prepared himself for the old lady’s judgemental stare. She hated Niall, his tardiness was a sign of bad parenting, or at least she thought.

Getting to the room, Niall and Eoghan were halted mid-step when a joyful Miss Evans stepped out of the classroom with a man--Harry-- in tow. Surprised at Miss Evans cheery mood, both stood agape as she turned to them with a smile on her face. “Well hello there Niall and Eoghan.” She greeted them grinning.

A silence stretched for a moment as Niall processed Miss Evans sudden transformation, pulled out of his shock by Eoghan shaking his hand he quickly said, “Um, yeah, good morning. I’m so sorry we’re late--”

Interrupted by Miss Evans who waved off his apology she said, “It’s quite all right, I understand how time can just get away from you… Eoghan, honey, why don’t you go set up at your desk, we’re reading the book I gave you guys last week.” she cheerily said turned to Eoghan.

The seven year old nodded, giggling at his teacher, he turned to his Papa and hugged him quickly before rushing into the room. The three adults stood quietly in the hall, Niall eyes turned to the door that had just closed.

After a long pause, Miss Evans spoke up, “Oh pardon my rudeness, mister Horan, this is Harry Styles. One of my pupils from back when.”

Shaking his head, Harry stepped closer to Niall, pushing his hand out, “Nice to see you again, Niall.” he said as he took his hand.

There are those dimples again, Niall thought to himself as he shook Harry’s firm hand. Discreetly checking Harry out, Niall’s eyed wander up and down, looking back at Harry’s face he could tell his glances were as obvious as Niall hoped they hadn’t been.

Harry winked at Niall before turning back to Miss Evans-- still holding NIall’s hand, “Well it was lovely catching up with you Miss, I’m afraid I must go now. I have a lecture to teach in a bit and I’d like to prepare.” he said kindly. Niall looked down at his hand, feeling moisture begin to set, he gently pulled his hand from Harry’s grip.

Miss Evans exclaiming said, “Oh of course! It was so nice to see you again Harry! Please, message me whenever you’d like, it was lovely hearing from you!” before pulling Harry into a sudden hug.

Harry nodded and turned back to Niall, quietly he said, “And I’ll see you later.” before promptly exiting the hall.

Bewildered by the situation, the shock returned as he glanced back at Miss Evans who was checking out Harry’s retreating form.

this chapter is a mess, I'm sorry. feedback is greatly appreciated. hope you enjoyed. x

#I'm so sorry for the late chapter #I was struggling to find something to write #until next time #narry storan #narry #narry fanfiction #kid fic #professor harry #narry au

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