After calming Niall down and making sure that he is okay, Liam takes him back to his place knowing full well that Niall would want that and they couldn't do that at his house because his parents would be coming home tonight where as Liam's are at his grandparents. They head straight to bed when they arrive, curling up together. Liam whispering comforting words to Niall.
Liam wakes up in the middle of the night, and he has no idea why. Niall's turned away from him, head buried under a pillow, and his entire front is pressed against Niall's back. He closes his eyes, breathes steadily, and tries to get back to sleep without waking Niall up. But his mouth is dry and he's fully awake, and he knows he's not getting back to sleep without a drink.
Quietly as he can, he climbs out of bed, making his way slowly across the room. He pulls open the door, slips out, and leaves it partially open behind himself so it doesn't make too much noise when he tries to close it.
The kitchen light is already on when he gets down there, and he finds Ruth sitting at the coffee table, hair pulled up in a messy bun, yawning and sipping coffee while reading. She looks up when he walks in, rubbing at his eyes as he goes, and he waves sheepishly at her.
"Can't sleep?"
"Thirsty."
"Sit," she orders. "I'll get it for you. Coffee, tea, juice, or water?"
He debates for a moment. He can smell her coffee, and that makes him want one, but he'd like to get back to bed with Niall soon, so he says, "Juice."
She pours it in a plastic cup and everything, like he's ten years old again and can't be trusted to use glass because he has a track record of always breaking them. He gulps half it down in one go, trying to quench his thirst, and ends up finishing the whole thing off in, like, seconds. Ruth laughs at him before grabbing the whole carton from the fridge and placing it on the table.
"Niall still asleep?" she asks, as he pours himself a second glass.
Liam smiles down at his glass. "Yeah. He's totally out. I think today took a lot out of him."
"I'm sorry for scaring him," Ruth says instantly.
"It's fine. His okay now"
She hums around her coffee cup, taking a long, slow sip. When she lowers it, she looks down for a while, a contemplative look on her face. One that Liam's seen many times.
"Why are you even up?" he asks, realizing it's at least two in the morning.
"I was on the phone with John" she explains.
"Right."
She goes back to looking down at her coffee, and he goes back to sipping his juice and yawning periodically. He's tired, could go back to sleep, but he doesn't want to stand up just yet. Maybe in a minute. He needs to work himself up to actually moving.
"You're very in love with him, aren't you?" Ruth asks, catching him off guard.
Liam shifts in his seat a bit, eyes downcast. "Yeah."
She lays her hand on top of his own, giving it a squeeze. "I know. It's very obvious."
"Do you... do you approve? Like—"
She laughs, cutting him off. "Do I approve? He looks at you like you light up his entire world, Liam. His always looked at you like that. I'm happy for you Li, honestly."
Liam grins at her. "Good, because I don't know what I'd do if you said no. I love him a lot. I think I always have"
Her happy expression falls a bit. "Which is why I don't understand why you're hiding it."
