Liam laughed and smiled cheekily, cheeks pink, when Niall first said that. his eyes were sparkling under the glare of the sunlight — as if it were jealous of Niall to be able to have Liam to love and to be loved by — a brilliant shade of oak, fresh wood, a cup of hot cocoa, morning coffee (the kind that Liam makes in the morning when he wakes up earlier, and Niall likes the way it's bitter even with two packets of sugar stirred in, likes the way it bursts Liam Liam Liam as the liquid leaves a warmth down his throat); they remind Niall to breathe but sometimes it also makes him forget how, makes him remember that that's ok and this is his and Niall wants to hold on to catch his breath.
"alright, poet Niall," Liam scoffed, rolling his eyes and lips in a tight smile, failing to hide it from twitching upwards. "got anything more to add?"
"yeah," Niall replied, leaned in closer and pulled Liam's hips snug against his torso, mouthing at Liam's collarbone and biting the skin there. Liam made a soft "ah" noise and Niall loves that too. "i love you."
he doesn't have to look to know Liam's tainted red (and it's not entirely Niall's fault that it became his habit to smear a lighter shade of vermillion on Liam's cheeks), face heated and Niall felt a hot breath on the side of his ear.
"i love you too."
Niall knows it's hard to keep still for an artist to sketch a pose, but Liam's complained but never complained seriously that he'd force Niall to stop working—
"reckon you'd be done in a few, Niall?" Niall would nod, smearing charcoal with the tip of his thumb. "alright if i move my arm a tiny bit lower?" Niall would laugh, ("sorry, babe, in a moment"); "can i shift my knee a little over to the right?"
sometimes Niall'd sigh, deep and long. but right when he stands up, Liam'd say, hastily, "no, Niall, no no, mate, i was just poking fun. keep working, i'll keep my mouth shut."
and apologetically, Niall would return a small smile, "almost done, li. just hang on for a few, yeah?"
Liam nods — "ah, sorry, sorry; i moved." — "yeah, it's alright, babe, take as long as you'd like. don't rush."
and that always makes something tug at the pit of Niall's stomach like strings are attached at the ends and just pulling until he felt guilty.
Liam blinks up at him underneath his eyelashes when Niall feels the need to just show.
"it's just... you're lovely," he whispers, "i can't paint you enough." he breathes in the scent of Liam's shampoo, his hair tickling his nose and his cheeks. Liam nods into his shoulder, but careful not to move around too much.
"then paint me as much as you'd like."
Niall does.
**
Niall loves marking Liam with showers of love bites anywhere he can, pressing bruises into those irresistible hips to claim as his, loves it as much as he can paint Liam and paint on Liam, stroking shades of peach and turquoise, raspberry and lavender on the dips of his bones, leaving coloured fingerprints of red and brown (chestnut, really, the shades are different), green, yellow, and light pink, coral— scattered across Liam's back and his front, on his waist and his hips and the contours of his ankles.
"ah, you've got me all messy," Liam always says, looking at himself, hair disheveled and nose crinkled. "i look like humpty dumpty 'cept i fell in a bucket of paint."
Niall laughs at that, because Liam's silly and adorable and he's got paint on his clothes and his hair, on his chin and cheeks, everywhere.
he paints him. just like that.
"you've got a little something here," Liam says, pointing at his own nose, and Niall can't help feeling as if he's died and gone off to heaven; can't help but want to crowd Liam against the wall, thrust into him right here and right now, fuck him until he's as breathless as Niall is, mark him until he's realized how much Niall can't show with just words how much Liam truly means to him. Niall wants to open the skylight hovering above them, staining them with sunlight; maybe climb into a plane and jump off, screaming (he's crazy, probably; but that doesn't matter) i love Liam payne to the rest of the world; but he also rather whisper in Liam's ear like a secret — i love you and it will always be you, li — whisper with low panted breaths to make Liam understand.
but he can't voice out his thoughts, can't express his actions while his mind is running wildly, thinking, a mess, his chest tight and he doesn't think smiling is enough (it's a shame lips can't even stretch that wide) to convey everything Liam means to him.
so he grabs Liam's hips, pulls them forward until Liam's between the v of his legs and buries his face into his collarbone, pressing his lips there and breathing.
Niall wants to keep it like that.
Liam doesn't complain.
because art is Niall's favourite thing to do, his hobby, life, heart.
Liam's his sun.
