In Other Words (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Sixty-Six

Roxy’s POV

That moment when you first wake up; the first second you’re aware that you’ve even been asleep, your surroundings comfortable and familiar, everything just as it should be. That’s the best feeling. You can just let your eyelids fall back shut, and sink your head back into the pillow. Even if you’ve only got a few seconds before you have to drag your legs from beneath the covers and force your feet to the floor; that little bit of time is sacred.

A single jagged stream of light forced its way past the curtains, and I lifted my head just enough to see the time on the clock sitting atop the dresser. Seven fifteen. I sunk back against the pillow with a smile, and shoved my hips backward on the mattress, expecting to be met with his sleeping form, a gamble on whether I’d sink my butt against his butt, or if I’d get luck and find him facing toward me. I’d wriggle in against him, and he’d wrap his arms around me; probably sneak his hand in under my shirt to cup my left breast as we both returned to sleep.

But his side of the bed was cold, his share of the blanket tucked in behind me, as if when he left he knew he wouldn’t be slipping back beneath it. The longing for his warmth, and to feel even the tiniest sliver of his skin against mine prevented me from going back to sleep, and after a minute or two I was on the edge of the bed, rotating my ankles as my feet hovered above the floor, a few tiny cracks sounding as I wiped the sleep from my eyes and eventually made my way into the bathroom for the standard morning routine of brushing my teeth while peeing.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I made my way down the stairs, spotting him curled up on the couch, his laptop open as he hunched over the screen. “Ni. Why are you up so early?” I croaked.

“Couldn’t sleep.” He muttered as I sat at the opposite end, pulling the blanket around me; missing the warmth of our bed. “Why are you up?”

“Noticed you were gone.” I shrugged amidst a yawn. I slid back against the cushions, resting my head on the arm and wedging my bare feet beneath him, his ass keeping them toasty as he continued to tap at the track pad, his eyes darting around the screen. “What’s good in internet land?”I asked, hoping I could get comfy enough to fall back asleep for a while.

“Well, I was looking for your anniversary present.” He sighed.

“I don’t want anything.” I said. We’d already had this discussion.

“I know. But I was just so bored that I stared looking.” He laughed. “I’m just bored today. Too bored to sleep, even.”

“You’re nuts.” I said. The man spends his life hopping from city to city, he has a jam-packed schedule 85% of the time, and somehow he can still find a way to complain about a little down time.

“I want to go somewhere.” He said, balancing his laptop on one knee as he cracked his knuckles, a habit he’d only picked up recently.

“I could call El in a couple hours, see about meeting up with her and Louis in Manchester.” I said, racking my sleepy brain for other things we can do today, other than lay around the house and go to the market, which I thought was the plan.  “Hey, I thought you had to go to the studio today?” I remembered.

“I want to go someplace fun.” He said, not commenting on his work obligations.

“Like?”

“Like someplace we could only get to by plane.” He said.

“Today?” I said, suddenly feeling a lot less sleepy. He couldn’t be serious.

“Yes.”

“Niall!” I shouted. He ignored me, continuing to stare at his screen as he pulled one of my feet from beneath him and into his lap, a wry smile appearing on his lips. I could tell that his mind was set on the matter. “I don’t want to be stuck on a plane all day.” I muttered. He nodded, and I shoved my arm beneath my head, patiently waiting for whatever was going to come out of his mouth next. He took his phone from the table and tapped at the screen, which didn’t even have a chance to go dark again before it started to ring. “Hey man, didnknow’f ya were up.” he said into it.  I wasn’t exactly sure who he was talking to, but obviously they were a son of Ireland. It was so funny how he tended to make his accent stronger than it was day-to-day, almost as if he was trying to prove himself.