Every Niall Horan smile is art in itself- beautiful and unique, like a snowflake- and each one should be cherished dearly. What's even better is each smile speaks when words aren't enough. Among the highlights are the first smile, all white teeth and rosy cheeks, that gave off the friendliest hello Liam had ever seen. Then there's the secret smile Niall made the first time he succeeded in getting Liam flustered during their first date, jaw to the side and cocky tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth, the one that told Liam he wasn't getting out of this one alive. Liam remembers the warm, friendly grin when Niall asked him out for a date that promised "I won't bite," followed a few hours later by one that said "I definitely bite."
Liam remembers smiles from seemingly unimportant times, like when Niall was especially proud of himself for making some cheesy joke over pizza, so he beamed a bright grin with his tongue between his teeth, or the time they had sex out on the balcony at sunset and Niall had the softest smile in his eyes as they watched the sky together. Two of his favorites were the paint-splattered, slightly vulnerable smile Niall held on his face when he showed Liam the painting he made of that very same sunset, and the sweaty, sated lazy grin that couldn't wash off as easily as paint after Liam showed him just how the painting moved him right there on the floor of Niall's old studio apartment.
Of course, he remembers the important smiles, too. The one Liam remembers the most vividly is from one warm night in August, laying right where they are now, breathless and euphoric among the clouds. The moonlight shone in from the window, and just the way it bounced off of Niall's features brought something out in him. Liam had whispered his love for Niall for the first time, and Niall's grin in response, cheeks pinker than ever and crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, said "I love you, too."
Niall's lips are what brings him back to the present, pressed softly to his own right where they belong. Niall slithers down Liam's body, kissing and sucking lightly on the skin of his jaw, his neck. "What are you getting me for Valentine's Day?" Niall asks, running his hands over Liam's arms and joining their fingers together and pressing them into the bed. "Was it the poem?" He pauses for a second. "That was a poem, right?"
"It was a poem," Liam confirms.
"Neruda?" Liam nods. "What does it mean?"
Liam knows Niall's asking for a translation because he's not fluent in Spanish, but Liam doesn't give him one. "Everything," he answers instead. Niall huffs a laugh. "And didn't you make me agree to no presents?" Niall looks up and raises an eyebrow to him, meaning to say he knows Liam better than that. "Yeah, you're right. My gift is to... not to force you to eat any of the healthy foods I make" Niall scoffs against Liam's shoulder where he's busy leaving a mark. "What? You hate them."
"I know you've got more than that planned." Niall looks up and him and Liam holds firm in not saying anything. "Fine. Well, I'm giving you your present now."
Niall travels further down his body, kissing over the entire expanse of his chest as he goes. Liam hums and tilts his head to watch. "Your mouth was God's gift to me, you can't really claim it as your own." Niall lets out a loud laugh, face still pressed to Liam's skin. "What are you doing?"
"I'm an artist, Liam. You can't rush art." He makes no other effort to respond, though, just resumes sucking on various pieces of Liam's skin until they're red. He does this in a few places, gently kissing other places, moving peacefully and unrushed. With the warmth of Niall's lips and their intertwined fingers, Liam feels like he could definitely fall back asleep right now. Niall keeps moving, occasionally Liam can feel Niall's mouth and tongue forming silent words on his skin that he can't make out.
Eventually, Niall climbs his way back up Liam's body and kisses his lips, and it's then he realizes he actually did fall back asleep. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby" Niall murmurs with a smirk. They kiss for a few more moments, wishing the moment could extend forever, but they both have to get ready to live their lives outside of this bed. "Come on, start the shower. I'll put on a pot of coffee."
Niall hops down from the bed and clumsily makes his way out the bedroom door to the kitchen, and Liam takes a moment to stretch in bed before he trudges to the bathroom. He rubs his eyes as he turns on the water, setting it to a hotter-than-warm temperature, and waits. Liam turns around to look at himself in the mirror and finally notices what Niall was doing. Marks steadily growing redder, Niall had sucked hickeys onto Liam's chest and stomach into the shape of a heart. From his sternum, over and around his pecs and down to a point right above his bellybutton, he was now marked as Niall's territory in possibly the most adorable way Liam could've imagined.
Liam laughs to himself and gets in the shower, Niall jumping in with him less than a minute later. When Niall asks if he likes his present, Liam just smiles and kisses him. The men shower rather quickly, easily falling into their shower routine- complete with Niall's loud, off-key performance of whatever song was in his head when he woke up (this morning it's "Dancing Queen" by Abba for some godforsaken reason). Niall's shower singing was Liam's favourite part about their shower routine; no matter how Liam's feeling, Niall's boyish charm and cheery personality always make him feel a million times better.
