All Good
Prompt: ...Nouis, where Niall's a cat hybrid and pregnant and has a home birth...
"Louis!" Niall called out from the couch, cradling his pregnant tummy with his arms and tail. "Lou?"
There was silence through the house, Louis giving no response.
Niall sighed and closed his eyes. "Maybe I can wait." Not even a minute passed before he shook his head. "Lou!"
Louis slowly appeared in the living room doorway. "Yeah?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"I need help," Niall replied pathetically, his ears drooping sadly.
Louis just nodded and headed over, helping Niall up off the couch. "There."
"Thank you," Niall breathed out, hurrying off to the bathroom. He returned a minute later to find Louis standing in the same spot, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Lou?"
"Three times, Ni," Louis stated blandly. "You woke me up three times last night."
Niall looked to the floor, hugging his belly. "Sorry, Lou," he said softly.
Sighing, Louis held his arms open for the blonde, who gladly moved into them. "It's not your fault. I know you're tired, too."
"Yeah," Niall whispered. He sighed heavily and leaned his head on Louis shoulder, his tail curling around the taller boy's waist. "We better get used to it, hey?"
Ruffling Niall's hair, Louis chuckled humourlessly, "Who says the baby will wake up as much as you?" He held the blonde tighter against him and kissed his ear. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Louis." Niall buried his face in Louis' neck, giving him a few affectionate kitten-licks. He suddenly made a small noise of pain, gripping onto Louis.
"Niall?" Louis pulled back to look at Niall's face. "What's wrong?"
Niall blew out a breath. "I'm okay. I think… I think it's starting, though."
Louis' eyes widened. "Whoa, how is that okay?!"
"I'm fine, Lou, really," Niall assured him. "It'll start slow. Short, really spaced out contractions to start with." He tugged Louis' head down gently so he could kiss his forehead. "But that means we'll be seeing our baby soon," he whispered.
"Yeah…" Biting his lip to contain his grin, Louis gave Niall a tight hug.
"Careful, Lou," Niall squeaked.
"Sorry," Louis laughed breathlessly, pulling back to hold Niall's face in both hands. "Oh God, we're gonna see our baby soon."
Giggling, Niall stole a quick kiss before pulling away. "We still have to wait, though. I need to do something or I'll go bat-shit-crazy." He kind of waddled towards the kitchen, Louis following close behind. "I wanna bake. Let's bake something."
"Okay," Louis laughed, wrapping his arms around Niall from behind. "We should call the nurse first, though."
"Okay, you do that while I grab the things we need."
Kissing the side of Niall's neck, Louis asked, "All good?"
"All good," Niall confirmed with a smile.
xXx
Half an hour later, after Niall had napped on the kitchen floor while Louis did the cooking quite happily on his own, Louis was letting their nurse into the house while Niall sat eating a fresh choc-chip biscuit in the kitchen. "How's he been?" the young nurse asked.
"He's been fine. Really calm. He did take a lengthy nap, though," Louis chuckled. "Niall, Gina's here!" he called out as he led Gina towards the kitchen.
"Hey, Gina," Niall greeted cheerfully as the nurse entered he kitchen. "Biscuit?" he offered.
Accepting, Gina took a biscuit and sat beside the blonde. "Just the one contraction so far?"
"Yep," Niall confirmed.
"How long ago?"
"Half an hour?" Niall asked Louis. "Forty minutes at most."
Gina took a clipboard from her bag and noted down the time. "Right, just let us know when the next one comes."
"Will do-" Niall grabbed the edge of the bench as his ears flattened against his head, squeaking quietly before relaxing again. "Uh, just now?" he half-laughed.
"Okay." Gina wrote on her clipboard again as Louis came up behind the blonde and rubbed his back.
"All good?" Louis checked.
"All good," Niall nodded. The steady movement of Louis' hand on his back made him close his eyes, a soft purring filling the room.
"Good kitty," Louis teased lightly, merely receiving a flick from Niall's tail in return. "Does my Niall like when I pat his back?"
"You know I do," Niall hummed.
Kissing Niall's hair, Louis chuckled, "I definitely know."
With a contented smile and eyes still closed, Niall relaxed into Louis' petting. "Mrrrrrraow."
Gina laughed a bit. "I love working with hybrids. You're all so different."
"Why do you say that?" Louis asked curiously, smiling as Niall purred louder and rubbed his cheek against his chest.
"I've never heard a cat-hybrid meow before," Gina explained. "I have seen dog-hybrids bark, though. And whine. And their puppy-eyes are heartbreaking." Gina held a hand to her chest. "Gosh, I love my job."
"Niall only tends to meow when he's really relaxed," Louis told her, scratching behind Niall's ear. "And it's good you're relaxed," he cooed to Niall, pecking his lips a few times.
"I'm not a baby, Lou Bear," Niall pouted.
"No, you're carrying one," Louis whispered with a grin.
xXx
A few hours and several contractions later, Niall asked if he could lie on their bed. He was tired, unable to cat-nap like usual, and had the feeling his labour was escalating.
"Are you feeling okay?" Louis asked worriedly as he and Gina helped Niall onto the bed.
"Sort of…" Niall shifted constantly, making a short noise of annoyance. "'M so uncomfortable."
"Can I just push your top up a bit, Niall?" Gina asked, doing so when she received a nod of assent. She gently felt around Niall's tummy, taking notes on her clipboard.
"Ah, Lou!" Niall gripped Louis' hand tightly as the next contraction hit, squirming in discomfort. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…"
"It's okay, Niall," Gina assured him, rubbing his shoulder. "Breathe, stay calm."
Niall sucked in a deep breath, gripping Louis' hand tightly. He tried to let the gentle rub of Louis' thumb behind his ear relax him, which worked to some degree. "Thanks, Lou," he whispered.
"I've got you," Louis assured him, resting his cheek on Niall's hair. "You're gonna be absolutely fine, babe. I'm staying right here with you."
"Promise?" Niall asked quietly.
Kissing Niall's forehead, Louis murmured, "Promise."
xXx
It was another few long hours before Louis wrapped his arms around his tired and quietly crying hybrid in a sideways hug. "There, Ni, all done. You did a great job, babe," he murmured.
"Ow," Niall squeaked softly, sniffling and shakily wiping his eyes. He looked to where Gina was working.
"Louis, I'll need you to give me a hand, sweetheart," Gina spoke up. "I just need another pair of hands."
Kissing Niall's forehead, Louis gently helped the worn-out blonde to lay down, guiding his head to the pillow. "I'll be right back, love," he assured him, then headed to Gina's side.
Niall stared off to the side where his head had rolled to rest, too tired to lift it on his own. He heard a small cry, managing to look more towards the end of the bed. "Lou?" he asked quietly.
"Just one second, Nialler," Louis promised, Gina helping him with the little bundle in his arms. He walked slowly to the side of the bed, sitting beside his boyfriend and grinning at him. "Look," he whispered, showing Niall the tiny face in the blankets. "Meet our baby girl."
Eyes filling with new tears, Niall sowly and carefully pushed himself up so he could see better. "Can I…?"
"Of course you can," Louis chuckled, handing the fragile bundle to the blonde. "Look how well you did."
There were a few minutes where Niall simply started at the baby, gently touching her cheek. "Hello, beautiful," he breathed out eventually.
"She's gorgeous, boys," Gina smiled, standing beside Louis and watching them.
"Thanks, Gina," Niall choked out. A few tears crept down his cheeks and he sniffled quietly.
"Oh, Ni," Louis murmured, hugging him and their daughter. "Happy-tears, yeah?"
"Happy-tears," Niall confirmed with a hiccup, burying his face in Louis' shoulder. "Christ," he half-laughed, a tear or two dripping from his face into Louis' collarbone.
"I'll give you two some time," Gina whispered to Louis. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."
Nodding to Gina's words Louis stroked behind Niall's ear. "She got your ears, Ni," he told him cheekily.
Niall laughed more heartedly into Louis' neck, pulling back so he was just resting his head against the brunette's chest and they both could see their child. "And my tail?" he asked hopefully.
"And your tail," Louis confirmed with a smile. "And we didn't even have to leave the house."
"I'm glad we stayed here," Niall yawned, his eyelids drooping a little.
"Comfortable and familiar," Louis nodded. He stroked his fingers through Niall's hair. "Do you want me to take her so you can have a nap?"
Shaking his head, Niall mumbled, "'M fine. Wanna hold her."
"Okay," Louis chuckled. Shuffling them a bit, he moved so he was holding Niall from behind he could catch him and their baby if he fell asleep. "What names had we picked again?"
"Anna or Lydia."
Lightly rubbing their baby's catlike ear, Louis asked, "Which do you think suits her better?"
After a moment of deliberation, Niall looking up at Louis and replied, "I think Lydia."
"Me too," Louis agreed with a nod as Niall looked back to their daughter. "Lydia Horan-Tomlinson."
Niall shook his head. "Just Tomlinson," he said quietly.
"Just Tomlinson?" Louis frowned.
"Yeah…" Niall clasped his hand with Louis'. "Lydia Tomlinson." He glanced to Louis shyly. "I was hoping maybe… maybe I… I could…" Biting his lip and blushing, Niall whispered, "Maybe I could take your name? Since we've kinda been together for five years a-and… and now we've got Lydia… I mean, we're family now, right?"
"We'd be even more like family if you married me," Louis said, trying to make the comment sound off-handed.
"Could I?" Niall asked.
"Would you?" Louis squeezed Niall's hand.
"Yeah," Niall breathed.
With a slight smile, Louis asked, "Then will you? Will you marry me, Niall?"
"Yes," Niall sniffled, blinking at tears as his eyes met Louis'. "For real?"
"For real," Louis grinned, beaming even wider as Niall nodded more and cuddled into him. They sat together quietly for a little while, then Louis murmured, "Lydia Tomlinson." Niall nodded against his chest. "And Niall Tomlinson."
Niall giggled quietly, smiling to himself and watching Lydia squirm a bit. This was his family now; himself, his future husband, and their beautiful baby girl.
Also, I now have a fan account on Twitter, where I should hopefully be letting people know when I've updated/posted on here :) @GleekPlusDirect
