Convalescence

XII.

~ chapter vibe :P

~ slight CW/TW: body image issues

"Are you going to tell me what that was all about earlier?" Lili asked curiously.

She was balancing her phone between her shoulder and ear as she carried a pile of clean laundry to her room, dropping it on her bed and sighing.

Lili hated chores, and doing them after work was quite possibly one of the worst things ever.

She could never just come home and relax, maybe take a bubble bath and watch a movie. No.

There was always something that needed to be done, and it was exhausting. Just once, Lili wished she could finish a shift and have no obligations to worry about once she got home. 

Quickly, she crossed the room and shut her bedroom door, giving herself as much privacy as possible before switching to speakerphone. She placed the phone gently on her bed and began folding her clothes.

"What are you talking about?" 

Niall had called her when she got home from work, gushing over how much he'd missed her voice since they spoke earlier that afternoon.

Lili could say, with a decent amount of confidence, that he missed her just as much as she missed him.

Maybe she wished they weren't as co-dependent as they were, but life was so much more fun this way. It was nice knowing someone missed her presence. 

She could hear his couch squeaking slightly underneath him, which meant he was finally home and getting comfortable after the day of training.

He usually spent his alone time on the couch in front of the TV, having a beer or a cider while putting his feet up.

More than a few times, Lili daydreamed about lying in his arms on the couch, or in his bed, watching a show they picked together that would eventually become 'their show'. 

She wanted it so badly.

The image of him lying on his couch in comfy jogging pants, holding the remote loosely in his hand as he searched for something to watch was incredibly endearing. More so, it made her ache to be with him grow even more.

"You were shouting about something, and Evan didn't look so pleased."

Niall laughed happily in a quick, short burst of sound that warmed her soul.

"Oh, you mean my near hole in one?" he asked, amused. She could hear the confidence dripping from his voice. "Are you questioning my talent?" 

Lili rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see it. His cockiness, no matter how exaggerated it may be sometimes, was always incredibly hot.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, it's a serious question."

His tone was light, and she knew he had a big, wide grin on his face while he spoke. There was no way he didn't have a sixth sense for this kind of thing.

"No, idiot. When you yelled out 'proven' after the shot," she said pointedly "What, were you trying to prove that you could actually hit a hole in one or something? Don't tell me you've never done that before." 

She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Over the past couple of months, she had been quick to learn exactly what kinds of things would rile him up, and this was the perfect example.