Reason To Be (A Zouis Family AU)

Interlude One, Chapter One

The second the front door opens, the noise begins. Zayn chuckles to himself in the kitchen, turning to face the doorway as their six year old blond comes bundling in with his school uniform all twisted and reeved up, cheeks rosy and smile wide enough to show off his missing front tooth.

"Papa, Papa!" He yells, stopping when he's practically on top of the man's toes. Zayn laughs, hooking his hands beneath the boy's armpits and hoisting him up to sit on the counter.

Niall is in year one now, still the same cheeky, hyperactive little bundle of laughs that he's always been. He'd lost his first tooth just over a week ago, at the end of the Easter break, and the one next to it had followed within days. The gappy smile only succeeds in making him look even more adorable than ever as he grins and holds out a piece of paper to the man.

"What's this then?" He asks, taking it from the child, who lifts his shoulders to his ears and smiles even wider.

"I maked you a drawin'," he says, and Zayn grins, looking down at the picture. There a rainbow, and a giant sun in the corner of the page, with the word 'papa' printed in huge lettering in the middle.

"Wow. I love it, baby. Did you do this in art?" He asks, and before he can get an answer from the boy, Louis walks in with his lips pursed.

His husband comes to stand beside him in front of their youngest, raising a brow. "No, he didn't," he says a little sternly, and the six year old pays no mind to it, shrugging innocently.

"Everyone was doin' maths," he tells him, and Zayn flips the paper over to see that there are sums printed on the back, not a single one answered.

He winces. "Oh."

Louis nods. "Yeah. Mrs Johnson cornered me again in the staff room today because this one hasn't been paying attention again," he tells the man, and Zayn sighs.

The thing is, Niall never means to get into trouble. He just likes to make people laugh, and his imagination runs so wild that his attention never sits in one place for very long.

Niall looks a little sheepish, looking up at Zayn as if he's expecting the man to defend him.

"Buddy, you can't keep playing class clown and doing what you want. If the teacher tells you to do your sums then you have to do them, okay?" He tells him softly, and the small blond pouts.

"But I was makin' you a picture," he mumbles, and Zayn feels bad for the kid. But Louis gives him a look that says 'don't make me the bad guy again', and he sighs instead.

"I know, baby, and I love it. But maybe next time you should do your work first and then make me a drawing, yeah?" He says, and Niall contemplates this for a moment before he huffs and gives a nod.

"Okay Papa," he mumbles, then holds his arms up to the man. "Wanna get down now."

Zayn laughs and lifts the boy off of the counter, watching him sprint off into the living room.

Louis turns to him with a frown. "Do you think we should be worried?" He asks, and Zayn raises an eyebrow.

"What? About Niall?" He questions in confusion, and Louis nods. "I think he's just a kid with too much energy. I'm not worried."

His husband hesitates before he nods. "Yeah. You're probably right," he says before he looks to Zayn with a small smile instead, turning to face him fully and resting his hands on his chest. "Hi by the way."

Zayn smiles down at the man he loves, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Hi," he replies, and the shorter man leans up for another kiss when there are small footsteps in the room again.