Punk Niall Series

"You Meet His Family"

You glance up from the suitcase you're packing to find Niall in the same chair he'd been in all morning. He sat silently in the oversized chair, staring at the cloudy London skyline with a frown marring his beautiful face. You'd been with him the night before when his mother had called to tell him of his grandmother's passing and you couldn't tell if he was dealing with it or not. He'd sat down in the chair and there he had stayed. You had booked a flight back to Ireland and taken care of the packing while Niall dealt with the death silently. "Niall... do you wanna maybe shower before we leave?" You question softly, coming to stand in front of him but Niall doesn't seem to notice you. "Ni... baby, are you alright?" You question, crawling into his lap to press your fingertips to his jaw to force him to look at you. He blinks a few time, vision clearing as he glances up at you. "What, yeah... I'm fine. I'll just, take a quick shower before we leave," Niall assures you, lifting you in his arms as he stands and sets you on the edge of the bed before he makes his way into the bathroom. He doesn't shut the door and you wait until you hear the water running before you strip out of your own clothes and join him in the hot mist of the shower. "I'm so sad for you," you mumble against the tense muscles of his back. You had learned long ago after losing your own grandparents that saying "I'm sorry for you loss," was the last thing anyone mourning wanted to hear. "I know, me too," Niall responds sadly, hands clasping at your's desperately before he presses a wet kiss to your knuckles. You squeeze him tightly, thinking if you squeeze hard enough you can take some of his pain away and you hope the gesture lets him know he's not alone. He turns so he can wash his hair before his fingers are lathering your own hair with shampoo and you let him take care of you. You leave the house less than an hour later, locking the door behind you as Niall takes a seat in the back of the car you had called. His hand grips yours hard, hoping to convey that he's thankful for your presence without having to say the words. He's not good at words and you think you're beginning to see why. Words make things real and once things are real, there's no taking it back. You arrive in Dublin later that night and Niall gives directions to the hotel you're staying in because Niall had refused to subject you to his brother. The next morning is the funeral and you watch as Niall dresses in a crisp black suit and tie and you know he must feel so confined in the clothes he'd had delivered to the hotel room. Your hand never leaves his as you enter the small church and immediately you spot a small blonde woman that could be no one other than Niall's mother. "My baby boy," she cries softly, arms encasing him in her comfort but he continues to grip your hand tightly. After a moment, his grip on you loosens and he allows his mother's comforting words to wash over him as he hugs her back. "It's... lovely to meet you my dear, I just wish it was under different circumstances," Maura tells you with a motherly smile you've never seen from your own mother and you let her gather you in a hug. "I'm so sad for you,' you tell her gently and she gives you a grateful smile. "I'm so tired of people telling me how sorry they are for my loss, it doesn't comfort me in the slightest," she tells you, patting your cheek lovingly before her eyes wander to where Niall is standing silently beside the casket. "He's a silent man, much like his father. He doesn't talk much about his emotions but his gran could always get him to talk. He was her favorite; she really couldn't stand how Greg put our little potato down. She had a special place in her heart for Niall and all his tattoos," Maura tells you softly, squeezing your hand before she wanders back to the front of the church. You sit silently beside Niall throughout the eulogy, rubbing comforting circles on the back of his hand with your thumb. When the ceremony is over, Niall doesn't move to stand and you notice that neither does his father. "My boy... you know she would have hated you wearing that suit," Bobby chuckles; slapping Niall on the back gently and you notice Greg has to bite his tongue not to respond. Niall gives a half smile and shrugs while standing to give his last goodbye. A simple swipe of his fingers over the casket and a short kiss to the wood before he holds his hand out to you to guide the both of you back to the car. "This place always feels like home," Niall tells you while standing in the kitchen of his grandmother's home and you smile because it's the first thing he's said since leaving London.