Fire

Liam liked to believe that, at 23 years old, his life was going quite well. He worked for his fathers company, and was promised the position as CEO when his father decided to retired. Of course, it wasn't his dream to work at the management company, but he had to do what was right for not only him, but also his son Mason.

Mason was the reason Liam woke up, and the reasoning behind most of his decisions. Mason had recently turned five, and made it a point to tell nearly everyone he came in contact with that he was now a "big boy". He hadn't been a planned child, but if you asked Liam he'd tell you that finding out that he was to be a father was the best surprise he'd ever gotten. Mason's mom wasn't nearly as excited as Liam, and eventually decided she had had enough around his third birthday. It broke Liam's heart when she left, and angered him to know that she didn't even have the decency to tell Mason goodbye to his face. She had left a note on the counter, and it was the last time either of them had heard from her.

Liam glanced at the worn picture in his hand, a sigh leaving his lips, and dropped it as his phone rang out from the bedside table. He intently listened as his father told him about the situation that had just come up with a client, and slightly panicked as he was told he needed to make his way down to the office as soon as possible. It was barely 9pm, and while Liam would normally drop Mason off with his own mum, he knew that she was out with friends thanks to his dad. There was only one other option, and Liam pulled on street clothes again before shuffling off towards Mason’s room.

“Daddy?” Mason grumbled, squinting as soon as Liam sat on the side of his bed, “Why are you waking me up? It’s still dark out.”

“Daddy has to go back to work for a bit, little man,” Liam replied softly, brushing his fingers through his suns unruly brown hair, “So I’m gonna take you to Uncle Niall and Auntie Liz’s for a bit, okay?”

“But I’m tired and wanna sleep,” Mason whined, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his Batman pajamas, “Can’t work wait until tomorrow?”

“You can sleep there, promise,” Liam smiled, pulling the covers from Mason’s body, “And I don’t work tomorrow, so we’ll go out and do something fun. Whatever you want to do.”

Mason perked up at the promise of a day out with his dad, and hopped up as soon as Liam told him he could wear his slippers out instead of real shoes. As soon as the pair had coats on, and Mason had snagged his trusty stuffed turtle, they were in the car and heading to the Horan household. Liam carried a half awake Mason to the door after parking near the curb, and stepped back as the door swung open.

“Can I help you?” the woman, unfamiliar to Liam, asked, gripped the door in her hand tightly.

“Not to be rude, but who are you?” Liam asked, shifting as he studied the woman in front of him.

“Well, I’m Delaney, who are you?” she asked, stiffening her shoulders a bit, “And if you’re looking for Niall or Liz they’re not gonna be home for about an hour.”

“Daddy! This is Auntie Liz’s friend! She baked us brownies one time,” Mason smiled, tugging on his fathers collar to gain his attention, “I thought you were taking me to see Uncle Niall.”

Liam laughed at his son, amazed he could wake up so quickly and remember someone who had baked for him, and introduced himself as Mason’s father. Delaney smiled, shaking the hand he held out in a friendly gesture, and the pair stood in an awkward silence as they waited for the other to speak. Liam chewed on the inside of cheek in contemplation, knowing his father would be calling him shortly to ask where he was, and took in a breath as he weighed his options.

“Look, I wouldn’t normally do this, but do you mind keeping Mason until Liz and Niall get home?” Liam asked, feeling his heartbeat quicken, “I mean, I’m just nee-.”

“Of course,” Delaney smiled, holding her arms open for Mason, “He’s been an angel every time I’ve seen him. And you’re the agent, yeah? I know how stressful and demanding those types of jobs can be. I’ll have Niall or Liz call you when they get back so you know.”

Liam thanked her profusely, giving Mason a kiss and a quick ‘I love you’ before passing him into her arms. He rushed through the garden, ignoring the buzzing phone in his pocket, and was certain he broke more than one law on the drive to the office. All eyes snapped to him when he entered the conference room, and he apologized as he slid into the seat next to his friend, and coworker, Zayn.

“What exactly happened?” Liam asked Zayn, whispering so he wouldn’t interrupt his father who was addressing one of the new agents.

“Tomlinson apparently got super smashed again and went after a paparazzi at the club,” Zayn replied with a shake of his head, “That’s his new agent, Harry Styles, your dad just fired Jason before you got here. Apparently this whole thing is putting Louis on some sort of probation with the team, since he’s had so many run ins lately.”

“Great, more work for us,” Liam grumbled, thankful that his father still hadn’t drawn him to attention, “Why couldn’t our part wait until tomorrow then?”

“Because you are a friend of Louis, and have dealt with a contract like this before, Liam,” Mr. Payne announced, catching Liam and Zayn’s conversation, “Zayn, finishing drafting the contract, and Liam go over the details with Harry please.”

Everyone in the conference room dispersed, obviously having been given tasks before Liam had arrived, and he quickly made his way over to the new agent. After a quick round of introductions, Liam gave him the rundown of what to expect in the new contract. He noticed Harry was young, probably right out of university, and suspected that he had ties to the company considering it was hard to land a job there. Zayn returned with the drafted contract not long after, pointing out specifics that Harry needed to drill into Louis brain, while Liam apologized to his father about his tardiness. His father brushed him off, understanding that he had Mason to worry about, and told him he could leave after telling the others to be back at 9am on Monday morning.

Zayn and Liam left at the same time, and caught up quickly as they walked through the empty parking garage. They were interrupted when Niall called Liam to inform him that he was now in fact home, and Zayn watched in amusement as he hung up the phone.

“So wait, you left Mason at Niall’s house, but him and Liz weren’t there?” Zayn asked, pulling his keys from his pocket, “Who was watching him then?”

“Well, their babysitter was there, and offered to take him until they got home,” Liam shrugged, stopping as they approached their cars, “I didn’t really have another choice.”

“Katie would’ve watched him, mate, you know that,” Zayn offered, referring to his own wife, “I’m surprised you left him with someone you didn’t know. That’s big, Li.”

Liam rolled his eyes, but knew that deep down Zayn had a right to be shocked. Liam didn’t trust anyone with Mason, afraid they’d hurt him like his mother had, and relied on close friends and family to care for him. He assured Zayn that he had only done so because Mason recognized her, and she seemed trustworthy. The other man just laughed, telling Liam he didn’t have to explain himself to him and bid him goodbye as they crawled into their respective cars. Liam drove to the Horan’s house much safer than he had drove from it, and couldn’t get the niggling from his brain that Zayn had inadvertently planted there.