There is some hope for Niall after all.

Also, thank you so much for all of the follows, votes and comments! So close to 1000! Truly means a lot!

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Niall wakes up to the sun shining directly in his eyes. "Billions of miles away and yet you still found me," he grumbles.

He sits up on the bed he was lying. He doesn't recall ever laying on a bed though. After Nick had brought him to his house yesterday at lunch time, the boy had refused to leave the living room couch. He still wasn't fond of the idea of this man that he still doesn't know completely babying him. Nick was understanding and brought the boy food that they ate together while watching TV. The two times Niall needed his nappy changed happened on the floor because Niall didn't want to use the changing table. He ended up going to sleep just after watching a rerun of Friends. Nick had offered to find something more "age appropriate", but Niall shut down that suggestion quickly.

Nick's house is a small cottage that was built for two people. Actually, it's the perfect size for Niall and him. There are two bedrooms, one being the master with an adjoined bathroom and the other being the one the boy is currently in. The only other rooms in the house are the living room, kitchen, and main bathroom. Despite it being a minimal house, there is a large backyard surrounded by a white picket fence.

The mattress he is on belongs to a twin bed and thinks of how odd it must have been for Nick to live all this time with a bedroom next door to his designed for a little. It's colorful in here, with rainbow curtains and a fluffy yellow rug. The room was for whoever needed babysitting overnight. Harry has stayed in this room a time or two. There is a wooden toy box in the corner and against the wall sn a changing table. All in all, it's a pretty impressive setup for something that is hardly used.

The boy looks down at what he's wearing to find he had been changed into a night shirt that was much too big on him and almost looked like a dress and some very tight purple shorts. He misses the comfort of waking up in a warm onesie and being able to curl his toes into the soft, fuzzy fleece. He also misses his monkey, but he knows that even if he ever did go back home to Daddy he will never see him again because he destroyed him.

"Hey, Bud! Glad to see you're up!"

Niall snaps his head to the direction of the voice. Nick leans on the frame of the open door.

"I was just coming to wake you. Breakfast is ready," the man tells him.

"Okay," Niall says quietly.

"Do you need to be changed?"

"No," the blond says. He wills himself from the comfortable bed and follows Nick to the kitchen.

"I hope you like waffles. I know some people either like pancakes or waffles and not both. But I figured you'd be okay with waffles..."

The boy nods. "I'm not picky."

Nick sighs in relief and gives the boy a smile. Niall sits down at the table and he wouldn't admit it out loud, but he's already impressed with the man. It's a rarity that he gets a good breakfast from Josh. Usually it's just a granola bar or cereal. And the smell of the hot waffles wafts into his nose and he hums.

Beside the plate is a metal fork and knife. Normally his food is precut and he uses a baby utensils. He picks the fork and knife up and holds them awkwardly in his hands. They feels so foreign and heavy. He tries to position them in his hands the way he believes is proper, but it still doesn't feel right to him. Giving up on the proper technique of holding cutlery, he awkwardly lowers them down to the plate and cuts through the waffle. The scraping against the glass plate hurts his ears and he frowns.

"Here, I'll do that for you," Nick offers.

Niall slide his plate over to the man. Nick cuts the waffle into bite size pieces and pours a bit of maple syrup over them. He gives the fork and plate back to Niall and keeps the knife near him.

"Thanks," Niall whispers.

"No problem, Love."

They eat in silence. Most of the meal, Nick has some things on the tip of his tongue he wants to say but he knows the boy probably doesn't want to make any small talk. Soon, their food is finished and their stomachs full. Niall's chin is coated in syrup.

Nick clears the table and rinses everything in the sink. He returns to Niall with a damp paper towel. He wipes the boy's chin and the blond mewls, not expecting it.

Nick kisses his soft hair. "Sorry, Honey. Couldn't let you attract an ant colony," he jokes.

The boy leaves the table and goes into the living room, assuming his spot from yesterday on the large couch. He hears clatter from the kitchen as his new caretaker cleans up the dishes.

Niall knows that he should give Nick a chance. The man has shown he cares and he has already been doing a good job at respecting Niall as he adjusts. But there is still a nagging in the boy's stomach every time he feels like he's let Nick help too much. Because Josh would always call him lazy or ungrateful if he had to do too much for the boy. But Nick never complains.

The doorbell rings and Niall freezes. Normally when the doorbell rings he hides, something he's done ever since he was a child. Niall hates strangers and the thought of an intruder is terrifying.

"just a second," Nick calls.

The man walks through the kitchen, and into the living room. He passes Niall on the way and runs his fingers over the top of his frosty tips. Niall shrugs so the couch hides him.

"Hi, sorry it took so long to answer," Nick apologizes to who Niall could only assume is the person at the door.

"That's not problem, Sir. We brought your order if you could just sign here and show us the way, we'll have it set up in no time," a cheery voice says.

The boy's breath hitches thinking about multiple strangers coming inside the house. He pulls the blanket down that is hanging over the back of the couch and conceals himself, keeping his legs to his chest to be as small and unnoticeable as possible.

Nick escorts three movers into the house. They shuffle their feet on the hardwood floor and one groans as he readjusts whatever it is he is carrying in his arms. The four men all make conversation from somewhere down the hall but the blond isn't quite able to make out what is being said. One of them makes a joke and they erupt in a roar of laughter.

Soft footsteps approach Niall so the boy pokes his head out of his little cocoon. Nick grins down at him. "Baby, what are you doing?"

"Hiding..."

"I can see that," Nick chuckles. "But why are you hiding?"

A loud bang comes from wherever the men are and Niall covers his head again. He lets out a distressed whine. Nick sits next to him and pulls the boy into his lap.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're okay. We're okay. Nothing's gonna hurt you," Nick soothes.

Niall curls himself closer to the man's chest and tightens the blanket in his fingers. "Sorry," the boy apologizes.

"No need to be sorry," Nick says.

"I guess... I just... don't like strangers," Niall struggles to say. "Never did."

Nick rubs his back. "That's okay. Sometimes new people can be scary, huh?"

Niall nods and enjoys the massage he's receiving.

"What are they doing," the boy asks.

Nick smiles brightly. "Can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's a surprise!"

Another loud bang rings through the house, causing the boy to cower.

"Hey, Ni? How about we go for a walk? Show you around the neighborhood."

The boy nods, wanting more than anything to get out of the loud house. "Okay."

"Okay," Nick says back. "Wait here, I'll get you some clothes."

Nick stands up and leaves the boy alone on the couch. Niall covers up again just in case one of the men come into the room. Nick returns with a pair of gray joggers and a sunshine yellow knit sweater. He helps the boy get dressed despite Niall's protest. He pulls a pair of socks that he stashed in his back pocket and rolls them on the boy's tiny feet and kisses his knee before standing up. Niall is led to the door and he slides his feet into gray UGG boots.

"You look so adorable," Nick says happily.

He slides his hand down to rest of Niall's lower back and opens the front door. They step outside and Niall is met with the sight of a small moving truck. The truck's back door has been slid up and he can see a few cardboard boxes sitting inside.

Nick smirks and leads then past the truck and down the short side walk. The street isn't very long and it's quite narrow, which Niall is thankful for because he's not the best with directions. Unlike the street he's been living on, these houses aren't identical cookie cutter dwellings. Each house has its own little personality. Some are cottage style like Nick's. There are a few turn-of-the-century beautiful white houses with remarkable small details in the moldings. And then, of course are the normal recently built houses.

It's a cozy neighborhood. Scarecrows and decorative hay bales are scattered about, going perfectly with the colorful fall leaves still stuck to the trees. The boy feels a bit of excitement thinking of how spectacular the place will look covered in a silvery winter snow. Their home will be beautiful with icicles hanging from the windows and gutter. Or how glorious all of the bushes in the front yards will look during the spring when flowers are in full bloom. He can imagine little squirrels climbing the large oak trees and baby bunnies hopping along the sidewalk, curious and full of life.

Niall doesn't see any signs of other littles, though. There aren't any toys laying in front yards. None of the cars in the driveways are minivans. A few random people that are gardening look like normal people around Nick's age. The man smiles and waves at them and they return the gesture.

"Nick," Niall asks.

"Yeah?"

"Am I the only one?"

"What do you mean? Only one?"

"Like the only...y'know...little boy on the street," he stutters out.

"Oh," Nick says. He chooses his next words carefully. "Ni, we're still in the community. In fact, it's only five minutes to Harry and Louis' house. But there aren't any littles around here. This part of town is really just for people not in families."

The boy lowers his face to rest his chin on his chest. "So I don't get to play with friends..."

Nick halts their walking and stands in front of the small boy. He places his hands on his tiny shoulders and bends his legs down a bit so they are eye level.

"Niall, I promise you will still get to play with you friends. I'll schedule and invite people over. Plus, you can always go play with Harry and Louis. Their daddies said so themselves."

The blond shakes his head. "Can't."

"You can't what," Nick asks in confusion.

"Can't play with Harry."

"Why not?"

"Louis doesn't like me. Whenever I get near Harry he gives me mean looks. And - and Harry does whatever Louis says," Niall admits.

"Oh, Baby. I don't think Louis dislikes you. He's just new to everything. You boys just need to get more used to each other. Then you'll be good friends, I just know it!"

"And if he really hates me?"

"He won't," Nick says.

"But if he does," Niall questions.

Nick let's out a sigh. "If he does, which he doesn't, then there are plenty of other friends for you to play with."

That does make the boy feel better. He really doesn't know how to feel about Louis. He seems like a nice kid until somebody messes with Harry. Then he turns into a jerk. But maybe that's how brothers are supposed to be. Niall never had any brothers, even in his old life. He had two older sisters, Jane and Kelsey. Jane passed away when he was 14 and the second Kelsey was old enough to go to uni, she left and never came back. Neither of them were very protective of him, though.

A gust of cool air hits them and Niall shivers. He runs his hands on his arms. Nick picks the boy up and props him on his hip. Niall is confused until he realizes the man is giving him body heat. He digs his fingers into space between Nick's opposite arm and his torso and lets out a content noise when his fingers no longer feel like popsicles.

"Sorry," Nick apologizes. "Should've put you in a coat."

"That's okay," Niall tells him.

They stay quiet for the rest of the walk home. Nick occasionally hums a song. It's not uncomfortable. Nick continues to carry the boy, which is fine with Niall because his bum is still bruised and it was beginning to hurt from the walking. The serve as a painful reminder of all he had to endure with Josh.

They make their way up the sidewalk and are stopped halfway when the three workers exit the front door. They look large and rugged. One is holding a large, metal toolbox.The blond panics and hides his face in Nick's neck so they can't see him.

"All finished?"

"Yes, Sir," one of them replies.

"Incredible! You guys sure are quick," Nick complements.

"Thanks. That's why they calls us the Mighty Movers," another chuckles.

"So, is there something I need to sign," Nick asks.

"No, Sir. What you signed at the beginning is all you needed to fill out."

"Okay, then. Thank you so much gentlemen. Have a wonderful day!"

The three men say their goodbyes and one even says have a good day to Niall. He tried patting the boy's back, but he let out a whine that had the man quickly apologizing. The boy didn't respond to his sorries, but the man understood. Niall didn't feel at ease until he heard the truck's doors being slammed closed and the sound of the truck pulling away.

They turn and finish walking up the sidewalk. Nick opens the front door and sets Niall down on the couch. "Stay right here," he tells him.

"Why?"

Nick gives him a big, toothy grin. "Gotta finish the surprise!"

Nick leaves Niall alone in the living room and the boy frowns. He would rather have a nap than be surprised. After about five minutes of Nick's absence, he turns on the telly and watches some random show on Nickelodeon about about girls at a witch school. It's absolutely obnoxious and the actors are terrible, but it's better than sitting in silence.

The blond doesn't even notice Nick walk by him and into the kitchen because he is too distracted by the dating problem the main character is having. Because apparently witches have "normal" teenager problems. Ha! They should try living the lifestyle of the young adults in this community. Here if you are attracted to someone they either laugh and continue babying, completely ignoring the fact that you have a raging hormone driven body like every other teen. Or they completely use and abuse you so that you end up regretting every time your body reacts to something.

Well, at least the nappies sort of cover up hard ons. That fact alone probably saved Niall from a few encounters. He's pretty sure no one has ever tried touching Harry before. Then again, Niall is pretty sure he's never seen a male happy helper ever change Harry. But after seeing how mad Uncle Z was when he got in the car the other night, he knows that if someone ever did touch Harry they would probably get killed. Uncle Z and Li are the Knights in Shining Armor you see in the all of the fairy tales.

The girls are more vulnerable than the boys here. Niall can think of many times he watched some of the workers touch his friend Abby in her no-no places. The girl tried putting up a fight the first few times, but they would always give her candy and tell her to not tell anyone. Most of the time it happened when they were all at recess and the two littles would need to be changed. Sometimes they even bribed Niall not to tell.

"Ni." Niall jerks when he feels hands on his shoulders. He didn't realize how deep in thought he was. Nick chuckles. "Didn't mean to scare you. Your surprise is ready if you are."

The boy nods and stands. Nick holds his hand and takes him first into the kitchen. Standing next to the table is a beautiful, white wooden highchair. Niall gasps and moves in closer to inspect it. The cushion is has pink and red roses covering it and the legs have a vine pattern carved in. It's magnificent.

"Is this for me," he asks, looking up at Nick with his wide, blue eyes.

Nick nods. "Do you like it?"

The boy doesn't say anything. He just continues to admire every detail of the chair. He's always wanted one.

"I also got you some new dishes and silverware," the man says, taking a plastic bowl and plate from the cabinet. They have a similar floral pattern to the chair cushion.

"But...," Niall whispers.

"Something wrong? Don't you like them," Nick asks.

"It's just...wouldnt you be ashamed of me for using girly things?"

"Of course not, Ni. You seemed like the type who likes flowers so that's what I got," Nick explains.

Niall's eyes become watery. "Daddy...I mean Josh! Josh said it's not okay to like girly things."

Nick approaches the boy and wraps his arms around him. "Baby, you can like whatever makes you happy. There's nothing wrong with liking pretty things. Heck, I wouldn't even mind if you wanted to wear skirts and dresses."

Niall blushes. There was a time that he and Harry had a play date and walked around with a pink tutu over his jeans. But if he ever did dress the way Nick is suggesting he wouldn't go out in public like that. "I'd have to think about that," he admits.

"That's okay. No one's rushing you. Like I said, whatever makes you happy, Little One."

He blushes at the name. Little One is a name that for some reason has always made him feel fuzzy and warm. Nick holds his hand again and takes him to the back of the house.

"Close your eyes," Nick says.

The boy does and he hears the door open. Nick glides him into the middle of the room and he hears the light switch being turned on.

"And open!"

He lifts his eyelids and looks around in shock. Right in front of him in a beautiful white rocking chair with a rosy-pink blanket draped over it. His mouth drops and he goes over to pet the soft blanket.

"Thank you," Niall sincerely says.

"Baby, you haven't even seen the best part."

Niall turns his head to ask the man what he means but stops when he sees the crib. A crib!

He doesn't even go near it, too afraid it isn't actually for him or he'll get attached and someone will pop up saying just "just kidding".

Nick goes to stand next to him. "You don't have to use it if you don't want to. We can keep the bed in here if you want."

"So, it is mine?"

"Yes."

He slowly moves closer to the crib. It's breathtaking. The white wood matches the high chair and rocker. The bars are padded with soft white satin. The mattress inside is covered by yet another rose pattern and there are many tiny pillows scattered in there. It truly looks like it came from a catalog. Like if Martha Stewart ever decorated an adult - baby nursery, this would be in it.

His fingers run along the bars. They're real! This isn't a dream!

With happy tears in his eyes, he meets Nick's. "How did you know?"

"I just guessed. You don't have to use any of this if you don't want to. I can send it back if you are uncomfor-."

Niall cuts his off with a tight hug. "No, don't! Please! I'll be a good boy! I'll prove to you I'm a good boy! I've just always wanted this! Please, don't send it back! I'll be good!"

Nick kisses the boy's head. "Niall, you're always a good boy. You don't need to earn anything. You deserve the whole world. I won't send any of it back if you love it so much."

"Thank you," he cries into the man's broad chest. "Thank you."

"I know we still don't know each other very well, but Niall I just want to let you know I love you and I'm so proud of you for how far you've come. I promise to spoil you and protect you. Most importantly, I promise to respect your boundaries."

"You're all I could've ever wanted," Niall confesses and kisses the man on the cheek.