Reunion

Niall was the next to make his way downstairs although he was not the first to wake up. He had already been up talking to Lisa for over an hour as he dissected each millisecond of the interactions between the reunited friends the night before. Why had Louis been avoiding talking to Zayn? Why had Harry skipped over the questions posed about his marriage? Had Zayn finally looked comfortable enough amongst them that he would participate in the process? All of it swirled around his head as he struggled to get it all out to Lisa. She had no answers since she had not been there but had patiently listened as he had spat out words and questions like a machine-gunner, only giving her opinion when he would stop for a millisecond for a breath.

After finally analyzing each moment of the reunion, he had finally talked to her about the much too soon impending arrival of their baby. She said she had been feeling okay but she was tired and the last leg of the pregnancy had been dragging on much longer than the others. Niall had insisted that her mother Annie come and stay with her while she was away and the well-meaning but smothering personality had been grating on Lisa. But Niall was glad that he had that stress taken away from him of worrying about her being alone and Lisa knew that that her mother only meant the best as she was going to be a grandmother for the first time.

The conversation had lasted almost two hours by the time everything had been dissected and shared and so when Niall had finally gotten himself out of the bed, it was after 9:30. He proceeded to shower and get himself dressed to head downstairs and continue the work of the day before. He also had an important thing to do. Today was the day he would hand out the letters to the others that he had been entrusted with by Liam. They were currently tucked into the corner of his bag waiting to be opened and the individualized contents discovered.

He ran a hand through his blond hair to make sure he had the perfect amount of spike and looked away from the mirror before heading downstairs and finding Harry and Zayn sitting at the counter in the large open kitchen, plates of food in front of each of them. The conversation was quiet but they looked comfortable in each other's presence, a change from what had been the scene just five years earlier. Each of them clutched a glass of juice in their hands and it was the only sign of tension as he could see visible white knuckles around the clear surface. But their faces were smiling and Naill watched it happily for a few moments, hoping it was a sign of what was in store for the next while. At one point, Harry must have told some type of joke and he watched as Zayn threw his head back in laughter, a large smile gracing his face.

"Hey guys," he said as he stepped off the last stair. "I can't believe you guys are the early risers of the bunch. That usually never happened before."

Harry shrugged and set down his glass on the glossy counter. "Well, some things have changed," he said softly with a wistful tone in his voice. Niall and Zayn both caught it but didn't make any comment. "Louis must be the late one now. I think he's still passed out upstairs. Did you want some breakfast? I made enough for everybody."

"I would love some. It smells wonderful." Niall came beside the counter and poured his own glass of juice before grabbing a plate from the counter and grabbing some eggs, bacon and hash browns that had been set out. He had forgotten that Harry had enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. He grabbed a forkful of eggs and ate them eagerly. They tasted amazing. "I was thinking that maybe we could go for a quiet walk along the beach today once everyone wakes up." He didn't mention that he had hoped to be able to pass out the letters they didn't know about when they were all relaxed and together and enjoying each other's company for once. Being outside beside the sea could only help.

"That sounds fine." Zayn dug into the remainder of his own food that lay in front of him. He had skipped the bacon and had only taking a small portion of the others but he seemed to be enjoying the food as well. "But I have a feeling that it may be awhile before we see Louis up and around today. From what I've heard, he has a tendency to like his sleep a little bit too more than he used to." Niall saw Harry about to say something but he bit his tongue instead and shoved a scoop of food in his mouth.

"Yeah, well, like Harry said. Some things have changed. Who would have thought that I would have a little one in the next couple of weeks?" Even as Niall said it, he struggled to grasp the permanence of the statement. He was going to be a father to a living and breathing human being. He would be changing nappies, making and heating bottles and doing all the other things that he couldn't even grasp yet. "I do have something to pass the time though until the last one wakes up." Niall pulled a game case out of the back of his pants and winked at Harry and Zayn. "I know that Louis was the one who loved this the most but I was thinking that maybe we could see just who has been able to keep their skills during the last few years. I brought the system and hooked it up last night. FIFA anyone?"

Niall was right that the two men with him were hardly the video game addicts that he and Louis could be and he figured it would be a good way for them to break the ice. It would have been easier if Louis had been to there to cuss and yell and cry foul only the way that he could. But Harry's eyes actually did light up at the sight of the blue plastic case. Maybe it was just the memory of enjoying being in each other's presence that seemed to excite him.

"That sounds great," he said as he scooped up his last bit of breakfast and got up to put his dishes in the sink. Let me just get changed and I'll meet you back here."

Niall watched Harry bound up the stairs, his still lanky frame and messy hair a flashback to his younger years. He turned back to see Zayn setting his own dishes in the sink, his bare arms covered with a few more tattoos than he remembered. He seemed to have gotten dressed before he came downstairs and was wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans. Like Harry had earlier, Niall also noticed that Zayn seemed to have grown back into himself. His clothes fit snugly on his slim but solid frame and his face no longer had the look of being ready to shrink into nothingness. Zayn turned to face him after cleaning his and Harry's dishes and setting them to dry on the rack beside the sink.

"So mate," he said with a soft voice that threatened to actually verge on warmth instead of the hostility he had heard on the message he had left for him only a few weeks before. "How is Lisa doing? I assume you talked to her this morning."

Niall nodded as he made his way over the plush couches that dominated the centre of the family room after sliding the disc into the machine. He didn't realize that Zayn knew anything about his life as it was at the moment but figured that maybe Liam had mentioned something in passing. "She said she is about ready to have that baby out of her. Her mom is with her but she is pretty tired since there is only a couple of weeks to go until her due date."

Zayn came and sat beside him, his face registering surprise. "I know that I have been out of the loop when it comes to what is going on with you and I had heard that she was pregnant but I didn't realize that she was so far along. Shouldn't you be back home with her in case something happens instead of being at a beach house with us three? I would think you are needed more there."

"I guess." Niall paused as he took a moment to look out the window. He remembered the words that Lisa had said that morning as they had been finishing their phone calls. She had told him that she was fine, the baby was fine and that he needed to be where he was at that moment. After a promise to call him if she had the slightest sign that she was going to be in labour, she had told him she loved him and hung up. Her ability to understand what he needed in the moment was one of the many reasons that he loved her. "We talked about it and she will call me is she feels the slightest contraction. I also made her invite her mother to stay with her while I was gone so she wasn't alone. It wasn't an easy sell but she did it for me anyway."

"Humph," Zayn said as he leaned back on the couch. "That's one pretty special lady you have there. Not many women would let the father take off on vacation just when she was about to pop. I would really like to meet her one of these days."

"I am very lucky." Niall turned his face towards Zayn and nudged his crossed arms with his elbow. "What about you? I haven't heard about whether or not you have a special ..." Niall paused for a moment as he remembered that Zayn had come out of the closet a few years earlier. "... special guy in your life. Are you seeing anybody?"

Zayn paused before answering. He had never told anyone about his relationship with Adam. Even those at work could only guess as to what had happened after the young man had stopped gracing the halls Insane Dog Marketing since Zayn had never told anyone that they had started to see each other. But this week was about repairing the frayed relationships that were once as strong as steel. He had to start being honest with the men in the house or the same issues would only come back. And he refused to have that on his conscience. But that didn't mean they had to know everything.

"I'm kind of with somebody but it isn't anything official. I mean we hang out and see each other but we aren't tied to each other." Even though Zayn tried to pass it off as something casual and easy, he still felt a tight twist in his heart at the thought of Adam. It made him think just how much of an indent the man had made in his life in such a relatively short time. "We are nowhere near where you and Lisa are."

"There are times that I think that even I'm not where Lisa and I are. Especially when someone reminds me that I am about to be a father. I thought the only one made for fatherhood was Liam and now he's gone." Niall saw Zayn visibly cringe at the mention of Liam's name but it had to be put out there. Someone had to be the first one to get the invisible fifth member of the reunion back into the room. "I saw Danielle and the boys just before I left."

Zayn heard the words behind what Niall was saying. He didn't have to explain that Danielle would still be struggling with the loss of the one man she had loved since such a young age and whom she was reminded of each day by the twins as they circled around her. He remembered seeing her at the funeral in her black dress and large hat, her dark circles covered by a pair of large sunglasses. She had brought the children along with her but they didn't seem to understand the significance of the event they were attending. He was sure they would later in life. He had thought that she had seen him there but if she had, she hadn't given any recognition as she was in the middle of her own careful balancing act with emotions to try to do the same to his. Zayn didn't ask how they were doing.

"Niall, I want to say that I am sorry." Zayn was surprised at his own words, not sure when he had formed the sentence in his mind. But now that it was spoken, he had to finish the thought. If he didn't, he might just chicken out. "I should have come see Liam when he was sick. I was a complete asshole by not doing it and I made yours and Louis' life harder by avoiding dealing with the shit at least once that you were every day." He saw Niall try to stop him but he kept on going. Now that he had started, it felt good to get the words out to the person who deserved them the most. "I know that you thought I didn't care but I did. Liam truly did save my life in ways that only he and I knew. Maybe I can share some of that while we're here and maybe that will help you to understand why I made the wrong decision."

Zayn stopped then, tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks as he watched the emotions fly across Niall's face. He could tell that there were many questions attempting to force themselves from his friend's throat but he held them back because he understood that the time wasn't right for them to be asked. Instead, Niall simply nodded his head and squeezed Zayn's shoulder, a sign that he had understood that Zayn was sorry and that they would talk about it later. It was exactly what was needed between them in the moment. A chain had been reforged that both of them had thought had been broken beyond repair.