Harry turns to him.
“I’m really happy that you came with me tonight.”
Niall smiles. “Me too.”
“Wish you’d go out more with me. I like spending time with you.”
Niall feels his cheeks burn up. “Yeah?”
Harry smiles and nods.
“Wanna maybe go out to eat or something after the game?” Harry asks. “We don’t have to go with the others. We could just go somewhere on our own.”
Niall wishes that he could.
“I promised my dad I’d be home right after the game,” Niall tells him.
“Oh, okay,” Harry says a bit solemnly. “Another time then.”
Niall nods. That’s how it was with Niall, always ‘another time’.

When the game ends, Harry and Niall says their congratulations to the lads and then head back to Niall’s car so that Niall can take Harry back home.
They don’t say much at all on the ride there. Niall can just feel that he’s ****ed up.
Niall parks his car outside of Harry’s house. Harry doesn’t move to get out and instead turns to face Niall.
“Can I ask you something?” Harry asks him.

Niall swallows hard and nods.
“Do you fancy me?”

Niall can’t breathe.
“Yes,” he manages to say.
Harry breathes a sigh of relief and chuckles. “Okay, so I’m not imagining things.”
Niall shakes his head. “No, I do. I really like you.”
“I really like you too,” Harry smiles. “Like really, really like you. I wasn’t sure if you fancied me back though because you keep brushing me off whenever I ask you out.”
Niall sighs. “It’s just –” He thinks about telling Harry about Stella, thinks about what his dad said. “I’ve just got a lot of things going on at home, I guess.”
He decides to hold off on telling him for right now. Doesn’t want to scare him off.

Harry just nods, doesn’t question him further.
Niall knows that he’s pushing him away again. He doesn’t want to do that either.
“Maybe, we could, um, hang out sometime soon though. You could come over to mine maybe...”
Harry perks up. “Yeah?”
Niall bites his lip and nods.
Maybe it is time that Harry meets Stella. Maybe he’ll understand, maybe he’ll be okay with it.
“I’d really like that,” Harry tells him.
Niall smiles.
Neither says anything for a minute.
Harry takes off his seatbelt and Niall’s heart hurts when he realizes that Harry’s going to leave.
He doesn’t though. He leans in towards Niall instead.
Harry presses his lips against Niall’s. Niall kisses him back after a stunned second.
When Harry pulls away, he wraps his arms around Niall, pulling him into a hug.
“Please let me in, Niall,” Harry whispers into his ear. “I really do like you and I want to get to know you. Please stop pushing me away.”
Harry pulls away and kisses Harry on the cheek.
“Good night,” Harry says with a smile.
“You too,” Niall squeaks out.
He watches Harry walk up to his house. He waves to Niall and blows him a kiss before going inside.
It takes Niall a few minutes to catch his breath and to steady his hands before he starts his car to go home.

Things are a bit strange between Harry and Niall. They text the rest of the weekend and then see each other at school. Niall doesn’t really know what they are or what’s happening with them.

He knows that nobody knows that either of them is gay. He knows that he should probably talk to Harry alone to see what exactly is going on between them. He knows that he should introduce Harry to Stella.
Niall finally gets the courage to ask him. It comes out of his mouth before he can take it back so now it’s all or nothing.
“Wanna hang out after school?” he asks on Wednesday.
Harry’s eyes widen and he smiles. “Really?”
Niall nods. He’s trying hard to let his walls come down. It’s hard; they’re built pretty high up.
Harry meets him out by his car after classes are over.
“So I finally get to see where the mysterious Niall Horan lives?” Harry jokes around.
“Yeah…” Niall says nervously. “Um, I just have to make a stop first.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Harry smiles.

Niall drives and tries not to have a heart attack while Harry fiddles with the radio.
The daycare is finally in their presence. Niall thinks he might pass out as her turns into the lot.
Niall slows the car and parks and Harry finally actually takes in where he is.
Niall watches him look around, taking in the pastel colours and childish décor. “Is this a preschool or something?” he asks curiously.
“Daycare,” Niall tells him, he turns off the car and starts to get out. Harry does the same.
Niall goes around to the trunk and pops it open. It’s where he keeps Stella’s carseat.
Harry stands quietly, looking confused, while Niall opens the backdoor to his car and set the seat up.
He shuts the door and turns to head inside. Harry follows close behind.
“Niaaall,” Lou calls to him with a big smile on her face.

“Hey,” he says to her.
“Who’s your friend?”
“Harry, hi,” Harry introduces himself.
“Lou,” she replies and then turns to Niall. “She was just having a little nap.”
Niall nods and heads over to the nursery where Lou has the cribs set up.
He smiles when he sees Stella. He picks her up. “Hi baby girl,” he whispers to her.
Harry stands back a bit, watches Niall.
“So, um, Harry,” he starts, “this is Stella…”
Harry takes a step closer to him.
“Is she, uh…” Harry trails off.
Niall tries to steady his breathing.
“She’s mine,” he says quietly.
Harry’s eyes widen.
Niall doesn’t know what to do so he starts to walk to leave the daycare.
“See you tomorrow, love,” Lou calls to him. “Nice to meet you Harry.”
Niall gives her a quick smile and heads out the door. Harry follows him close behind.
Niall opens the backdoor and gets Stella all buckled into her seat. He shuts the door when he’s finished. Harry is standing behind him. Niall can’t tell what he’s thinking.

Niall starts fiddling around with her formula, still holding Stella in his arms.
“Could I maybe hold her?” Harry asks quietly.
Niall turns around. He smiles. “Okay,” he says.
He passes Stella to Harry, smiles before turning back around to finish her bottle. This was turning out better than he expected it would. Niall guesses that his dad was right. He really needs to start listening to his parents more.
Niall turns around after Stella’s bottle is ready. Harry is smiling at Stella while she pulls on his curls.
He pulls a chair up close to Harry’s and Harry gives her back to him so that he can feed her.
“She’s really beautiful,” Harry says. He looks at Stella in awe.
Niall smiles and feels his cheeks burn up a bit.
“It’s so weird seeing you like this,” Harry chuckles. “Never in a million years would I have guessed that you had a kid.”
“You would if you saw me shirtless,” Niall says. “Got loads of stretch marks.”

“Is that why you won’t change in front of everyone for PE?”
Niall nods.
Harry breathes out a sigh of relief.
“What?” Niall laughs.
“I had really started to think that maybe your dad was abusing you or something.”
“What?” Niall asks with widened eyes. “Oh my god, no.”
“I just thought, like, you always changed in the toilets, so I thought maybe there was something that you didn’t want me to see,” Harry explains, “and then, like, you could never go out but you also didn’t want me here. I was starting to get really worried.”
“Christ…” That is not the impression that he wants to give people. “No, my dad’s pretty great. He let us move here with him.”
“So you wanted to come here then?”
Niall nods.
Stella is done feeding so they move to the living room to get more comfortable.

Niall feels so, so terrible.
“No, I mean, I technically only said that I hadn’t been with a girl, but um, ****… I’m really sorry Harry.”
Harry shakes his head. “It’s alright. I just wish you had told me is all. About all of this.”
“I know… I was stupid,” Niall says. He feels like crying. “I just was scared. I lost all of my friends last year.”
“Because you got pregnant?”
Niall nods. “Everyone turned on me. Said I was a slut. None of the lads I had been with would even agree to take a paternity test. I was literally all on my own.”
Harry frowns. “That's horrible,” he says.
“It was,” Niall replies. His eyes are tear-filled. He wipes them away with his sleeve. “I – I didn’t want that again when I moved here.”
Harry nods. He crawls across the blanket, around Stella, and pulls Niall into a hug. Niall holds him tightly.

Harry sits close to him after he pulls away.
“I understand,” Harry tells him. “I wouldn’t have judged you though, just so you know. I’m not judging you now. I still really like you.”
Niall doesn’t understand why or how.
“Really?” is what he says though.
“You’re still the same Niall with that Irish charm that I like so much,” Harry says with a smile, “and you’ve got a beautiful daughter.”
Stella squeals at the compliment and both boys laugh.

“I still want to date you.”
Niall bites his lip.
“Are you sure?” he asks. “I mean, Stella comes first and we share a room and stuff, and if we wanted to go anywhere, she’s gotta come with us because my dad works a lot…”
Harry nods. “I’m okay with that.”
“I also don’t think I want to have sex for like a really long time,” Niall keeps rambling on. “Don’t want to risk getting pregnant again. One baby is more than enough for me right now.”
“I’m okay with that too,” Harry laughs. “I don’t think I’m ready, as stupid as the lads might say that is.”
“It’s not stupid,” Niall tells him. He rests his hand on Harry’s thigh.
Harry smiles. “So is this happening then?”

Niall feels so, so terrible.
“No, I mean, I technically only said that I hadn’t been with a girl, but um, ****… I’m really sorry Harry.”
Harry shakes his head. “It’s alright. I just wish you had told me is all. About all of this.”
“I know… I was stupid,” Niall says. He feels like crying. “I just was scared. I lost all of my friends last year.”
“Because you got pregnant?”
Niall nods. “Everyone turned on me. Said I was a slut. None of the lads I had been with would even agree to take a paternity test. I was literally all on my own.”
Harry frowns. “That's horrible,” he says.