the lonely hearts club || n.h au

twenty

"You have no idea how happy we are that you've agreed to take over the pub." Patrick gives Niall's back one last pat before he takes a step back.

"Did you think I was gonna say no?" Niall asks, out of curiosity.

Everyone else seems to already know his answer before he even figured out that he wanted to say yes to the offer. His mates were certain he's going to take over the pub — it's just a matter of time — and Alexandra knew he's going to say yes based on the way he talked about Copper & Compass. It's both comforting and terrifying how he has a group of people who know him too well.

"Eh," Patrick shrugs, a small smile curving his lips. "We didn't want to get our hopes up. This pub... it's not much—"

"—This pub is everything," Niall interjects.

Copper & Compass is his safe haven. He feels so strongly for this place and it's not only because he's worked here for as long as he can remember. It's also because this is where he spent most of his time growing up, and it's one of the places in this small town that still houses memories of his mam. 

"Don't I know that," Patrick laughs. "We just didn't want you to feel like you didn't have a choice."

He did feel that way at first but now, the idea that his life will be cemented in this town forever doesn't bother him anymore. He knows — he suspects he's always known — that there's nowhere else he'd rather be. This is his home and he's not going anywhere.

"I'm just glad and fucking terrified that you trust me so much with it."

"I trust you with my life, kid, you know that?" He says, his face serious. Niall presses his lips together as an emotion he's not used to dealing with bubbles up to his throat. "And you know this pub is my life. Your aunt too, of course."

"Of course," Niall repeats, chuckling. "Dunno how I feel about you trusting me with your wife, if I'm honest, but okay."

Patrick lets out a loud laugh, muttering something about Niall being an eejit under his breath. "She'd be so happy, you know?"

His uncle doesn't have to say who for Niall to figure out who exactly he is talking about. His mam. She loved this place. Used to spend as much time as she could here helping Patrick out. Everyone believes he gets his love for this pub from her — they're not wrong.

"Yeah," Niall agrees, his throat knotting up.

"She brought this pub to life," Patrick continues. "Remember how great she was with everyone?"

"Fucking spectacular," Niall replies, barely getting the words out before another lump forms in his throat.

If it weren't so difficult for him to speak about his mam, he would've talked about her more. But it's hard and he doesn't know if it'll get easier. He hopes it does because damn it, he misses her so much and sometimes, he just wants to talk about her. Tell everyone how much he misses and loves her. How fucking amazing she was. Today is not that day.

Patrick ducks his head to meet Niall's gaze and shoots him a smile. "Hey, she'd be proud of you, kid. So proud."

Niall can feel tears prickling behind his eyes and he wills himself not to cry. "God, I fucking hope so," Niall says, choking back something between a laugh and a sob. His visions start to blur and his throat is thick with unshed tears, which he immediately staves off by shaking his head. "So, what's your plan after this now that you're no longer a pub owner?"

As Patrick catches him up on the things he and his wife have been up to when he's not at the pub, Niall listens happily, glad to be distracted from the thoughts that were making him sad on a supposedly good day.