Forbidden Desires {Ziall AU}

Chapter 26: I caught that holiday glee

chapter title from A Nonsense Christmas by Sabrina Carpenter

Welcome to the Christmas special!

I'm not a big Christmas person, but my boyfriend gave me the idea and I simply couldn't resist.
I love the way that it turned out, and it might be one of the longest chapters to date. I listened to Sabrina Carpenter's fruitcake while writing this, and I absolutely adore that EP, I hope you do too!
I hope you enjoy!

TRIGGER WARNING
Minor discussions about past abusive relationships (like really minor you kind of have to squint)

You know, there aren't many things in a relationship that would be a deal breaker for me. But Niall's incessant enthusiasm surrounding Christmas might be the first. For the last two weeks I've had Christmas music blasted into my brain while Niall's infectious smile lights up his face.

Now, he's tired himself out with Sabrina Carpenter vibrating off the walls. He's tangling his arms with mine. "Why do you hate Christmas?" he whispers, fiddling with the string of my hoodie.

"I don't hate Christmas," I defend.

He turns around, eyeing me, "wrong answer, try again."

I sigh, "I don't know, I just...uh." I take a deep breath, don't get lost.

Niall's hands cup my face, rubbing his thumbs on my cheekbones, "Hey, hey, come back, it's just me."

I lean into his hand, centring myself, "I guess I've just never really had a good Christmas."

"what do you mean?"

"My father doesn't like it," I reply, the memories of the cold house flooding back. "he thinks it's a pointless holiday that gets in the way of business. Mum tried, but there was only so much she could do when my father was so against it."

He wraps a palm in mine, squeezing, "so you've never had a real Christmas?" when I look at him, he seems like he's about to burst at the seams any second.

I cast my eyes down, avoiding his gaze. The cold feeling slips through me, the one I always wanted to forget, "no, I guess I haven't."

He looks me up and down, assessing my expression, "ok, here's what we're gonna do." He declares, slipping out of my arms in search of his phone. "My parents are going away. We're gonna go to their apartment and do all the stupid cliché things that make Christmas Christmas." He pauses to catch his breath, glowing, "sound good?"

I smile, for once I can have all the things everyone raves about when they come back from holiday break. "Sounds perfect," he makes his way back over to me, sitting close. I wrap my arms around him, tackling him down into the blankets. His sweet giggles fill the room, "I love you."

He wraps his arms around me, murmuring into my ear, "I love you too."

***

When I knock on the door to the lavish apartment I'm sure that I must be well over my head. The building looks way too sterile to be a place where my sweet Niall is sitting as the moments tick by.

He swings the door open, a massive smile lighting up his face, "Hi." He steps aside to let me in the doorway.

I drop my bag in the hallway, "hey," I grin, wrapping my arms around his waist, and lifting him from the ground.

He tangles his hands in my hair, tugging on the strands. I take the opportunity to tug his lips to mine, electricity zipping down my spine. He smiles against me, kissing me deeper. When he pulls away, I chase after his lips, not ready to let him go yet. He puts a finger to my mouth, stopping me from connecting our lips again, "We have a lot to do."