I like turtles.

Niall couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as Liam hugged him, clutching tightly to his boyfriend back. “I will baby.” Niall whispered into Liam’s neck. “I promise I will. You don’t have to deal with anything on your own, ever again.” Niall promised, tightening his grip on Liam even more.

Liam nodded at Niall's words slightly, smiling weakly as he kept on clinging to his boyfriend. He listened to the boy and frowned deeply. He knew Niall got hate, maybe even more than Liam himself and he felt selfish now. Niall never made him go through any of this, he didn't think it was fair. "I don't even deserve you." He mumbled, shaking his head as he loosened his grip around the other male.

Niall shook his head slightly as Liam apologized. He didn’t want Liam to be sorry when none of this was his fault. Niall couldn’t help, but place a soft kiss on Liam’s forehead when his boyfriend turned to look at him. “Let me try Li.” Niall whispered, one hand reaching out to grab onto Liam’s. “Please just let me try.”

Liam smiled weakly as Niall kissed his forehead. He sighed heavily as he looked down at their hands, thinking about how the boy would even be able to help him. He still didn't think it was possible. You can't just make people like you, that's just not how it works, but Liam trusted Niall and he knew he couldn't get through this on his own. He nibbled on his bottom lip before he wrapped his free arm around Niall and hugged him tightly, nodding a little. "Please try." He whispered, closing his eyes as he gently squeezed the boys' hand. He couldn't help but smile softly at the warmth Niall's body provided.

Niall smiled as he turned his head and saw Liam smiling at him. He could hear the love in Liam’s voice when he talked about his sisters and it made him smile even wider. His smile dropped as Liam continued talking. Niall was glad that Liam had something that he could escape to when he was younger, but now his mind was thinking of reasons why Liam might have had to need to escape.

Liam kept his eyes closed as he felt Niall pull him closer and wrap an arm around his shoulder. He bit down on his bottom lip hard, listening to his boyfriend's words. He couldn't help but smile as he felt the boy kiss the top of his head. "I'm sorry." Liam mumbled, sucking in a shaky breath before he closed his eyes. He hated how this whole thing effected Niall as much as it effected himself. "I know." He started, his voice quiet as he turned to look at his boyfriend. "Know you want to help me but I don't think you can." He said, staring into the boys' eyes. They were blue; as blue as the ocean. Or as blue as the sky on a clear, sunny day.

Niall smiled softly as Liam came and sat next to him. He listened to his boyfriend talk, his smile growing with each word. He could tell how much that meant to Liam and how happy it made him. Niall wished he could have Liam be this happy all the time, that they could just hide up here forever. “That sounds awesome Li.” Niall said softly. “Your sisters are awesome for doing that for you!”

Liam nodded in agreement, "They really are." He mumbled, smiling softly as he thought back at everything they had done for him when he was little. He kept his eyes on Niall and couldn't help but tilt his head and smile at him fondly. He snapped out of it as the boy turned to look at him again. "It has always been a little get-away-from-everything place." He said quietly, his smile dropping instantly as thoughts of him being bullied in school came into his mind, along with the hateful tweets. He closed his eyes and pulled his legs up, pressing them against his own chest as he sighed heavily.

Niall grinned as he watched Liam climb the ladder, not being able to stop himself from checking out Liam’s ass before following him up. He carefully climbed the ladder after his boyfriend, looking around with a huge smile when he entered the tree house. “This is so cool.” Niall breathed out, walking over to one of the other windows and looking out of it. He didn’t expect a tree house to be so cool inside and to be this spacey, but he loved it.

Liam kept on looking out the window, smiling brightly at Niall's words. He nodded and turned to look at the other boy. He watched as his boyfriend sat up against the wall before he walked to sit next to him, still looking around with a wide grin. After a while he turned to face Niall before he smiled sweetly, happy that the boy liked the tree house. He nodded before he started talking, "Yep. I knew my dad didn't want me building one but I begged my sisters to help me and eventually they did. Dad was gone for a business trip for a whole weekend and that's when we built it." He said with a chuckle, "It was amazing." He mumbled quietly, a soft smile on his face.

Niall smiled softly as he watched Liam’s own smile widen, feeling his heart skip a beat at the sight. Liam’s smile never failed to make him fall a little bit more in love each time he saw it. He watched as Liam walked over to the tree house, slowly starting to follow him, but mostly just watching as his boyfriend’s happiness seemed to grow the closer he got to the tree house. 

Liam turned to look at Niall and smiled softly as he agreed on going up the tree house. He didn't even hesitated another minute before he started climbing up the ladder. Once he reached the actual house his eyes widened in delight. It was pretty big and even had a few windows to look out of. It reminded Liam of the tree house his sisters and him once built in their back yard. He walked over to one of the windows and looked out, his smile wide. "Wow." He mumbled as he could look almost over the entire park.

Niall frowned as he heard Liam mutter under his breath. “You’re pretty to me.” Niall whispered with a shrug. He smiled softly as Liam called him pretty. “Thank you love.” Niall quietly said back, his voice matching Liam’s in volume.

Liam just stared down at his hands, shrugging at Niall's words before he nodded, smiling softly, "Welcome." He turned to look at the boy, his smile widening before he nodded. Liam just stared at his boyfriend before he started walking towards the treehouse. He stopped once he reached it and looked up at it. It must have been new, since the wood didn't look rotten. "Do you wanna go up?" He asked, already walking towards the little ladder.

Niall rolled his eyes slightly as Liam apologized. “No need to be sorry love.” He shrugged. “I just think you’re too pretty to be frowning.” Niall continued with a huge grin. His grin only grew as eh saw Liam smile and point at the swings. He couldn’t help but feel a little proud that he got his boyfriend to smile again. Liam’s smile was one of Niall’s favorite things in the world and he had been starting to miss it the last few hours. 

Liam furrowed his brow a little as Niall said he was too pretty to be frowning. "M'not." He muttered under his breath, slowly shaking his head. He never found himself particularly ugly or anything but he surely wasn't pretty. Not even a bit. "You're pretty." Liam said, his voice clearer now but still quieter than usual. He had the urge to close his eyes for a second, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavy but somehow he couldn't. Liam bit down on his bottom lip, not quite able to tear his eyes away from a tree house he had spotted.

Niall smiled softly as Liam stepped closer to him. “Thank you Li.” He whispered back as he felt an overwhelming amount of love for the boy in front of him flow through him. Niall had no idea what he did so right to deserve someone like Liam, but he was going to make sure that he never took it for granted. He needed to make sure Liam knew how much he loved him. 

Liam's eyes widened a little in shock as he felt Niall's fingers on his face. He let out a small laugh, "Sorry." He mumbled, shrugging, not actually knowing what he was sorry for but he felt like saying it. He somehow had the urge to apologize again as Niall mentioned that he would make him talk about what's been going on, but he figured he shouldn't. He just looked down at his feet, biting down on his bottom lip as he felt bad because he knew he wouldn't tell Niall. He just couldn't. Liam looked up and smiled softly as he pointed towards the swings, before he walked towards them. He wanted to feel like a kid again; wanted to forget about everything for a moment or two.

“Oh.” Niall said, automatically moving his free hand up to try to fix his hair. “Does it look okay now?” Niall asked, turning to Liam as he tried to flatten down his impossible blonde hair. 

Liam watched Niall closely. He couldn't help but crack a soft smile at the boys' attempt to fix his messy blonde hair. "It always does." He said quietly, stepping closer to his boyfriend. Niall's hair was one of the many things Liam adored so much; one of the many thing's that made the younger male perfect. Just too perfect for someone as flawed as Liam.

Niall nodded as Liam suggested going to the park. “A park sounds good. They’re pretty peaceful at night.” Niall said, smiling as he followed Liam into the elevator. He leaned against the wall next to Liam, reaching over to run his hand through Liam’s hair, just once as if on instinct. 

Liam closed his eyes for a second as he felt Niall's hand in his hair, loving the tingly feeling it was giving him. He just chuckled, shrugging. "Your hair is messy." He mumbled, a fond smile on his lips. He let Niall pull him to the front door, looking around a little. As they walked through the door, Liam pulled Niall towards the direction of the only park he knew.

Niall smiled softly as he followed Liam out of the bedroom, grabbing his phone and wallet from the coffee table on his way to the door. “Thank you.” He said softly as Liam held the door open for him. 

Liam nodded, closing the door behind him before he followed Niall. "A park, maybe." He said quietly with a shrug. "But we could just walk around as well." He quickly added, looking at Niall to see if he was okay with it. He sighed as he walked into the elevator and leaned against the wall. It was cool and it felt like it helped him relax a little. He forced himself to not close his eyes, keeping them glued on his boyfriend.

Niall nodded slightly as Liam said he’d rather go outside, giving the other boy a small smile. “I want to Li.” Niall said quietly, trying to reassure the other boy. “Fresh air sounds great right now actually.” 

Liam couldn't help but smile as Niall said he wanted to come with him. He mumbled a quick "Good." and sat down on the bed. He still felt weak every so often. He watched Niall and hoped the fresh air would make him feel better. He stood up and walked back towards his previous spot as he saw Niall was almost done changing. He nodded and started walking out of the bedroom and towards the door.

Niall stood up as Liam went to wash his mouth and face, frowning at his boyfriend in concern. His frown grew deeper as Liam apologized, shaking his head as he wrapped his own arms around the older boy. “You have nothing to apologize for Li.” Niall whispered, kissing Liam’s forehead before he pulled away.

Liam shook his head, but couldn't help but let Niall drag him toward the bed. "I'd rather go outside." He said quietly, looking at Niall. He needed to get his mind off things. He felt like he was going insane. Like all he did was sleep for the past month. "Can we please go outside?" He asked, letting go of Niall's hand. "Y-You don't have to come if you don't want to." He added as an after thought, not wanting Niall to feel obligated to be with him.

Niall bit his lip as he saw Liam shiver, resisting the urge to just pull Liam back into his arms. He hated this, feeling unsure of how to behave around Liam. He was supposed to be protecting Liam, comforting him and the fact that he couldn’t was driving him insane. He had always been the one with the protective streak and as he watched Liam curl into himself and bite his lip to the point of bleeding the protective streak only got more intense.

Liam placed his hands on the toilet seat and threw up. He instantly felt better when he heard Niall's voice and felt the boy rub his back. A smile was about to form on his face before he tightened his grip and frowned. He threw up one more time before he sat up straight and stood up slowly. He walked over to the sink and washed his mouth and face. "I-I'm s-sorry." He stuttered weakly as he turned to look at Niall. "Bedroom." He whispered and stepped closer to Niall, wrapping his arms around the younger male.

Niall held Liam tightly, eyes glued to his boyfriend’s body as it shook in his arms. He just continued to make shushing noises, rubbing Liam’s back in an effort to help calm the other boy. Niall hated seeing his boyfriend like this, wishing he could do more to help the older boy.

Liam pressed his chin towards his own body, making an attempt to curl up like a ball, his hands refusing to move their positions though. He closed his again, shivering a little. "W-Why weren't y-you sleeping?" He asked, his voice muffled and shaky. He bit down on his bottom lip hard, forcing back the urge to run into the bathroom. He pressed his eyes shut again and released his lip, tasting blood. He couldn't help but gag at the vile taste. He hated smelling blood, tasting it was even worse.

Niall held tightly on to Liam as he continued to silently cry. He knew he couldn’t wake up Liam but he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It took him almost an hour to finally calm down and lightly doze off. He hadn’t been asleep more than five minutes when he was woken up by Liam jumping in his arms. Niall tightened his grip on the other boy as he started to become aware of everything around him. 

Liam fisted Niall's shirt, his eyes pressed closed. He whimpered every time he heard a crack and tugged on the younger male's shirt; like a chain reaction he couldn't control. He instantly calmed down a bit when he felt Niall's hands through his hair. He wrapped one of his hands around Niall's torso and tried pulling him even closer, craving his warmth. His sobs grew quiet after a few minutes and he rubbed his eyes roughly with the back of his hand before gripping Niall's shirt again.