#narbara

pairings: louis/harry, zayn/liam, niall/barbara, past aiden grimshaw/louis

wordcount: 14,584

summary: Coffee Shop AU where Louis is going through a dry spell, Zayn wants to be a good friend and help Louis find someone, and Harry ends up finding him instead.

We Burn So Bright (We Burn Out)

Chapter 54

By the time dawn rolls around Harry still can’t shake his sinking feeling of dread. The others almost all seem at peace, but Harry feels a storm brewing. He feels the inevitability of loss. It’s just like it was the day that Gemma died, when Harry wanted to pull out of the appearance because he knew something bad was going to happen.

“She’s been safely hidden away.” Niall says, sensing Harry’s mind wandering towards his sister. “I discussed it with her last night. She’s in a bunker that one of my people found, and she’ll stay there until after everything has happened. You don’t need to worry about Gemma.”

“Why is she hidden, but nobody else is?” Harry questions.

“Because Gemma didn’t have any role to play in this.” Niall says softly. “We all do. Don’t you think I want to put Molly somewhere safe? I would if I could, but she has a part to play in this, just like the rest of us.”

“You know what’s happening, then?” Harry asks, his heart skipping a beat.

“I do.” Niall nods. “My part, at least.”

“Then what’s mine?” Harry asks, grabbing Niall by the arm.

“I’ll tell you when we get where we’re going.” Niall says gently, slipping his hand into Harry’s. “We just have to wait for one more person.”

“Niall, I- I feel like I’m going fucking crazy here.” Harry says, his voice breaking in a way he can’t control and doesn’t give a shit about. “Why- Why are you being so fucking cryptic?”

barbara palvin + niall 🍓

♡headers aren’t mine, open the pictures to see credits

We Burn So Bright (We Burn Out)

Chapter 50

“How are things going with you and Harry?” Ashton asks, taking Niall by surprise. He would have thought that Ashton would head out after Niall called an end to their training. It’s not one of his days with Harry or Molly, so he has the opportunity to just relax.

“Think it’s more important to ask how things are going with you and Harry.” Niall points out, shifting his bag on his shoulder.

“Niall, I- I’m trying here.” Ashton says quietly. “Please don’t make it harder.”

“We’re good.” Niall admits, looking at Ashton and seeing the pain and grief there in his eyes. “Something new has started happening, so we’re learning to cope with that, but it’s good. Have you tried talking to Cal and Lu?”

“I saw Luke the other day at the café.” Ashton says with a soft smile. “He said ‘hi’ and let me buy him one of his new fancy iced coffee things. Left after that, though. I think he only said anything because he had Molly with him.”

“We don’t buy anything here.” Niall chuckles.

“You know what I mean.” Ashton huffs.

“And you know what I mean.” Niall counters. “Why haven’t you tried to have a real talk with them?”

We Burn So Bright (We Burn Out)

Chapter 52

“Go.” Harry grunts out, his eyes glowing.

It’s tearing him apart using this magnitude of power, stabilizing them in a single nanosecond. It’s not like before. Harry isn’t just keeping them in a different time period, but he’s actively holding all of existence still, and that has every possibility of literally ripping him to pieces, if the pain he’s exuding is anything to go by.

But Niall’s ability to emulate Harry’s empathic powers is fading already, now that they’re so far from the rupture. He knows he’s not feeling the full extent of it.

Niall takes off as fast as he can. They’re at the back of the courtyard, a crowd separating him from the stage where Gemma is, and where Harry is stepping onto. He pushes through, because it’s not going to matter to any of them or the corpse in his arms if there are a few bumps and bruises. They’re all going to be as dead as she is in a few moments.

Even if Niall had no idea about this event, even if he didn’t have this corpse in his arms that looks like her, Niall would know who he was looking for. Gemma looks so much like him, like Harry, but there’s more to it. There’s a purity in her that shines like a beacon in the sea of anger and hate.

She’d draw anyone’s attention, so it’s not hard to believe that Bobby’s people would kill her. They can’t let anything good exist if it’s magical.

Then again- Niall isn’t in any place to judge them. He’s spent a lot of time in his life hating magic and anything or anyone who had it. There were several points where he’d have probably worked with the bombers, if just to save the non-magical citizens in the crowd. He’d have taken Gemma’s life himself, if it was a mission given to him, and he wouldn’t have thought about it twice.

We Burn So Bright (We Burn Out)

Chapter 51

“You’re right.” Harry nods. “None of this is fair. My sister died for this. Niall lost Bressie and Barbara for this. We lost our entire futures, based on a version of the future that was never even allowed to play out. None of this was our choice. But the question is would you do anything different if you knew all this before?”

“I would have gone to get the cake by myself so that they never had to go into the tower.” Ashton answers after a moment. “But, otherwise- No. They’re my world, but I couldn’t sacrifice every living being on the planet for them. All I can do is protect them with everything I have, and pray that that’s enough.”

“So, you’re willing to die for them, but not willing to give them the chance to have you back for what little time we may have left?” Harry questions, leaning forward.

“Ever since that day, I’ve done nothing for them.” Ashton says quietly, dropping his arms and showing a vulnerability that’s been missing from this session so far. “I’ve been so wrapped up in my own trauma that I just abandoned them long before we came to Alamogordo. They don’t feel safe with me, and they don’t want me around. This- This is the only thing I can do for them right now.”

“That’s your self-pity talking, Ash.” Harry says gently.

“Sounds about right.” says a voice that makes the both of them jump. Harry should have felt their presence, but he’s been so focused on Ashton that he’s not entirely surprised that it didn’t register.